


Undefeated

by jackscribbles



Series: Listen to our Victory Song [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Eventual Smut, M/M, Multi, Nudity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28236039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackscribbles/pseuds/jackscribbles
Summary: Inspired by Stray Kid's performance of their song "Victory Song" on MAMA 2020.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Hwang Hyunjin, Bang Chan/Lee Felix, Hwang Hyunjin/Lee Felix
Series: Listen to our Victory Song [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2068440
Comments: 20
Kudos: 18





	1. Listen

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that they are not based on the idols' actual personalities. These are my original characters with play-bys from group Stray Kids and this is purely fictional and for entertainment purposes only.
> 
> P.S. Let me know if you prefer reading with bold font for the speaking parts or leaving it as is. Thank you!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters:  
> Hyunjin - Uriel, prince’s guard/general (Starategos or Stratigos)  
> Felix - Zelos, prince of Stragos  
> Chan - Raphael, king’s guard/supreme commander (Polemarchos)  
> Changbin - Thanatos, general (Starategos or Stratigos)
> 
> Locations:  
> Stragos - kingdom of Zelos  
> Themorinth - neighboring kingdom

Thanatos uses the back of his hand to wipe the wound on his right cheek, eyes showing sudden darkness rather than their usual glint, flicking up at the young, silver-haired general. Uriel didn’t show as much of a shadow of an emotion upon seeing the successful blow he had given to his fellow general despite being thoroughly amused and keeping in mind to tease the man about it later. They were here to show off their skills in front of the green, newly plucked young men, in the hopes of inspiring them to aspire higher than simply knowing how to use a weapon. At least, that was the goal, but Uriel did not believe in such nonsense. They have no choice but to learn how to use a weapon otherwise they would end up dead within seconds upon the impact in a battle.

Uriel narrowed his sharp, steel-grey eyes at Thanatos and gave him a little beckoning gesture with a nod of his head, taunting him to come and attack, garnering jeers from the spectating crowd. The older general, one with more experience in the battlefield, should know better than to be affected by such taunts and tricks but Thanatos gave a small snarl at his opponent and took careful steps, making them both move into a circle, gauging each other’s movements, alert and trying to be a step or two ahead of the other. The younger one showed the briefest of smirks and that was Thanatos’ cue to lunge at Uriel, swiftly moving as their swords made clunking and scraping sounds, one after the other until Thanatos found and opening, sliding behind Uriel and using his elbow to hit the silver-haired young man at the back whilst he jumped nimbly, causing Uriel to stumble and fall onto the ground.

It would have been a successful blow if Thanatos hadn’t turned his back for a split second, giving Uriel a window to use the handle of his sword, jabbing it to Thanatos’ side, making him cough and falter down on one knee as he caught himself despite being winded. Uri quickly recovered from stumbling and used his foot, scraping it on the sand, making a brief distraction that when the dust settled, his blade was at the coughing Thanatos’ throat. A roar of the crowd determined the winner of the little show of swordsmanship. With that, Uri’s face eased as he gave the other general a small smile, offering a hand to him to help him stand back on his feet. Thanatos snorted and shook his head but still took the helping hand as he groaned and gave extra pressure and weight on the other’s hand, “that was a strong nudge, General. I nearly face-planted on the ground,” Uriel backhandedly complimented, “that would have been embarrassing.”

“I would plant your smug face on the ground right now,” Thanatos snarled once more at the other, making the younger one shake his head as he pursed his lips slightly, “ah-ah~ let’s not ruin your impeccable reputation, General Thanatos,” eyes showing that glint of mischievous teasing before the other ultimately released most of the tension inside of him with a gruff huff.

Uriel took that moment to give a brief speech to motivate the greenies before patting Thanatos on the back as they walked off to the barracks, "you owe me meat from the kitchens," Thanatos said simply as he started to take off the pieces of metal that protected his forearms. Uriel's brows curled in surprise and confusion, "what! Did I not win against you? I should be the one getting something!"

"You already did,"

In confusion, Uriel looked at the other general and Thanatos only let another moment's pause before he gave the other a death stare, "I let you live," voice lower the depths of hell and younger on could only swallow the lump that formed in his throat, knowing full well that the other meant every word of it.

"Meat from the palace kitchens! Understood," straightening his body in salute as he watched Thanatos try to hide the smirk whilst he turned away and continued to walk off.

* * *

Inside the palace, the entire staff seemed to be on edge, busy and bustling with life and movement however, there was an air foreboding and heavy, making it almost impossible to breathe. Uriel had made his way to where he had been told that the prince was. Two soldiers stood outside the doors of the young prince's study chambers, they made their salute and opened the doors for him.

The familiar bright, flaxen hair of the prince, looking as if it was shone on by the sun even in the darkness, was seen by the heavy desk, rolled parchment, open ones and books were scattered on it. Uriel stomped his foot to announce his presence and give his majesty a bow, "Your highness," not straightening his back up until a good few more seconds, gaze firm on the prince, whilst his peripheral studied the room. It was a habit that good soldiers should have in order to avoid any ambushes and accidents. 

The prince gave his guard a quick glance with his icy blue eyes, almost bloodshot with how much he had been focused on what was before him, "Uriel," he said the soldier’s name almost in a drawl, "come," he commanded so simply before he lowered his head once more, returning his gaze to the parchment he held in his hand.

Not a second too late, Uriel made his way to the stand before the prince, in front of the desk and the parchment that the young royal was holding was tossed across the table towards the soldier. The silver-haired young man stared at the paper which had writings and at the bottom was a seal. He may not know how to read but judging from the expression of his prince and the seal from the neighboring kingdom, it was not good news, "news from Themorinth," he said simply to avoid any kind of reading on his part, cursing in his mind for not being informed as he was called upon. What was he giving coins to that old crude for?

The prince took a deep breath and leaned back against his chair, gazing at his guard with a deadpan look on his face, "news, you say," he said with the same drawl, making his accent much thicker that sometimes, Uriel couldn't understand him speak, "read it," gesturing at the parchment before he flexed his fingers near his face as if getting ready to take a swing.

With that, Uriel's face looked as if he was drained of blood with how pale he had become but he kept his expression same and neutral, "it's addressed to you, your highness," trying to come up with an excuse not to read and embarrass himself, "I cannot read such letter," meaning it quite literally but the prince didn't need to know that.

Scowling, the flaxen-haired prince tilted his head slightly, "are you disobeying orders, soldier?" But as he spoke those words, he suddenly realized and put the pieces together, making him sigh exasperatedly, "you have reached such a rank, led battles, and yet you do not know how to read?"

Uriel's then pale face suddenly became warm and surely, there was a tinge of color on his cheeks by now. However, he kept still, already accustomed to being berated. The prince leaned forward, moved the parchment to make it face his guard and had his eyes on him, "look here," pointing to the paper and to each letter, "this, this one says 'Stragos'," making sure to line his hand over the letters of the word, "study and commit the form of the letters to your memory. That is our kingdom," being as patient as he was and Uriel repeated the name of their kingdom, "Stragos," he said almost gruffly.

The prince gave him a quick glare and pointed at the word again, "look closer," and before he was to be scolded once more, Uriel obeyed and leaned down to look at the parchment closer, "yes, your majesty."

The prince lowered his gaze once more to the parchment before them, that Uriel had noticed just how light the young prince's lashes were, just like the hair on his head. Blinking rapidly, he lowered his gaze once more and waited patiently for the next word he was going to be taught. The prince moved his finger and pointed to another word as he said, "these two are the most important words you should commit to your memory, Uriel," his fingertip moving over the word to emphasize it, "this says, 'Prince Zelos'," voice and tone much more convicted, colored with pride, "as my guard, my name should be the first thing you shall recognize, understood?"

Uriel repeated the prince's name with softness as if he has never spoken it before, "Prince Zelos," flicking his eyes up at the prince and trying to say it again, "Prince-," cut off by the other when he was glared at once more, "are you ashamed of saying my name?" He asked with a bit of vexation showing in his tone to which the soldier had shaken his head firmly, "no, your majesty,"

"Once more, louder,"

"Prince Zelos," Uriel said the prince's name once more and it was only then that he realized that he had never spoken the royal's name in front of him. It was making him feel quite uneasy as it wasn't too common for servants like himself to pass the royal's names to their lips as if they were at their level.

"Good," Zelos praised the soldier as he pointed to his name once more, "you must learn my name as you belong to me and serve me," his finger then moved to a much shorter word, pointing to it, and now, his facial expression had returned to the grave look it had when Uriel had arrived, "now this, this word says…" pausing as his brows furrowed together, blue eyes looking as if they were blue flames, "...'war'."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters:  
> Hyunjin - Uriel, prince’s guard/general (Starategos or Stratigos)  
> Felix - Zelos, prince of Stragos  
> Chan - Raphael, king’s guard/supreme commander (Polemarchos)  
> Changbin - Thanatos, general (Starategos or Stratigos)
> 
> Locations:  
> Stragos - kingdom of Zelos  
> Themorinth - neighboring kingdom


	2. Steel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The high ranking officials of Stragos had been planning on their attack and keeping their defenses solid as the impenetrable walls of the castle. Young soldiers were trained to fight, Uriel was being trained to read by none other than the prince himself. He notices how Zelos and Raphael interact with each other which makes the gears in his mind turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!  
> I finally finished the second chapter as I've been putting it off because I was stumped at a certain part. This chapter is definitely longer than the previous one and more interactions among the four.
> 
> Also, here's a quick guide to this AU:  
> Characters:  
> Hyunjin - Uriel, prince’s guard/general (Starategos or Stratigos)  
> Felix - Zelos, prince of Stragos  
> Chan - Raphael, king’s guard/supreme commander (Polemarchos)  
> Changbin - Thanatos, general (Starategos or Stratigos)
> 
> Locations:  
> Stragos - kingdom of Zelos  
> Themorinth - neighboring kingdom  
> Creathos - an ally kingdom of Stragos  
> Agres - an ally kingdom of Stragos  
> 

Soldiers were trained day and night, some without much of a wink of sleep as this was to prepare for what it would be like to be in a war. The young soldiers were not ones to be suddenly thrown off to war but should there be a need, they will need to know how to put up a fight.

Gathered in the map room where a huge map of the nation and beyond, those which were known to man was on a smaller scale carved on a dark stone table. Pieces were placed here and there which were of gold and bronze. Around it were the highest-ranking soldiers, including Thanatos and Uriel as well as the crown prince Zelos and advisers, discussing the plan of attack and several other moves to make sure that their kingdom would be safe and would not fall.

"Stragos will never fall," boomed the words of the flaxen-haired king as the doors seemed to have flung open, the king's guard leading the way to the center edge of the table, making space for the king to position himself. The generals stepped back, bowed to show respect to the king, and didn't raise themselves up until he had stood at the center, "I have called upon our brothers in Creathos and Agres," the king continued as he pointed to the crests on the map, to which the king's guard used a pole to move the pieces accordingly on the map.

The other advisers seemed to have stood back when the king's guard had moved. It was not uncommon as most were intimidated just by the mere presence of the man, making him fit to be the royal king's guard. It was almost amusing to Uriel as he had known Thanatos and Raphael since they were young boys. Raphael merely looked intimidating as he had to maintain that due to being picked on when he was still younger. The scar on his left eye only added to the intimidating presence he has now.

Prince Zelos showed a brief nod and Uriel took a quick glance at the prince to read his expression and nodded once as well before they continued to discuss the plan of attack and where their reserves were. It was a long night and they did not get dismissed until it was past midnight.

Uriel’s strides were still sharp as his eyes were whilst he walked just a few steps behind the prince. It was always better to have the prince in front of him where he could keep an eye on him and their surroundings as compared to him being in the front and he would be blind to the prince’s physical presence. Despite having only been assigned to the young prince three full moons ago, he had immediately grown accustomed to and had studied the royal as was his duty to do so.

The crown prince often woke up early, wanting a bath before doing anything else in the morning before he would have his breakfast. Next on his agenda would usually be a part of his studies which varied on several occasions but lasts at least an hour. It would often last longer if it was something that the prince is particularly engaged in such as training with a sword and a spear for weapons, which Uriel personally found quite unusual as most royals would prefer a sword or even daggers. A spear was commonly used by foot soldiers. It didn’t have as much grace or elegance but as Uriel would watch the prince train, he started to believe otherwise.

When Prince Zelos was nearing the door to his private chambers, Uriel took longer strides to walk past the prince and have the doors opened for him. Taking a quick scan of the spacious room, he deemed it to be safe and had stood aside to give a curt bow to let the prince enter his room. The prince’s guard closed the doors behind him and turned to face the prince once more, “shall I have your bath prepared, your highness?” he asked as he watched the other start to strip himself of his garments, starting with his wrist armor.

“No,” it was a brief response and Uriel simply nodded in acknowledgment as he quietly stood there, still keeping an eye on the prince as was his duty whilst the young man slowly removed items on him, and Uriel’s brows furrowed ever so slightly, “would you like me to lend you a hand, your highness?” He asked for permission as he took a few steps towards the prince but still maintained a respectable distance between them.

The prince didn’t give the guard as much as a glance as he was fixated on removing the stubborn wrist piece that he let go and gave out an exasperated sigh before stretching out his arm, showing it to Uriel, “remove my outer garments,” the prince commanded. The soldier had no choice but to obey as he lessened the distance between them before he reached and started to unlace the wrist piece, taking it off with deft fingers. Pausing, Uriel blinked and glanced up at the prince, “...all your outer garments…?”

“Did I stutter? I shall tell you when to stop,” Zelos said as kept his gaze ahead, eyes nearly red as he was fighting the tiredness from showing but being that close to the prince, Uriel could clearly see how tired the young prince was so he nodded his head and did what he was told. He removed the pieces as quickly as he could, making sure not to make any unnecessary movements. It was rather odd for him to undress anyone like so since he was trained as a soldier, not as a servant. However, as they have started training at a young age, most of them were not given any formal education. They simply had to learn how to fight and know of the best tactics of battles and wars.

Uriel had gently placed the pieces of clothing he had removed from the prince on top of the nearest chair. This was not part of his job description and yet there he was, undressing the prince and he had done so without flicking his eyes up and simply focusing on his task at hand. He stood in front of the prince, who was about a few centimeters shorter than he was, head lowered as he kept his gaze on his fingers which worked on the lace. Once he had undone the lace, he pushed the jacket back, his hands sliding over the prince’s shoulders, going down his upper arm before he paused for a second.

“You are far too slow, Uriel,” the tone Zelos used was colored more of a teasing one than berating the soldier, “do you take your time taking off someone’s clothing?” softly letting out air through his nostrils. Uriel blinked a few times before shaking his head, “no, your highness,” he responded as quickly as he moved behind the prince, placing his hands on the lapels of the jacket, pulling it back to slide it off.

Zelos chuckled softly, smirking as he lowered his gaze when the soldier had moved behind him, “then do you tear it off their body? Or are you the type to leave the clothing on?” flicking his eyes up to the mirror on the far end of the room as he attempted to have a glimpse of what his guard’s reaction was.

Uriel took a deep breath and did his best to control his facial expression, showing very minimal movement on his face whilst he cleared his throat and took the jacket to lay it upon the rest of the prince’s garments on the chair, making sure to slow down his movements as he turned back around to face the monarch, his steel, grey eyes narrowing slightly, “it depends on the situation,” he didn’t allow himself to falter and linger on such remarks. It was not uncommon to be talked down to or teased by royals or high-borns so Uriel kept himself in check.

“‘It depends on the situation’, you say,” the prince mused as he lifted his own hands to unlace his white inner clothing as he took a step closer to his guard, blue eyes now livening up despite showing signs of fatigue. The guard lifted his gaze up, looking far ahead, at nothing in particular, simply to avoid eye contact with the royal, “let us test that out next time,” Zelos smirked up at the guard before he turned away to walk towards his desk, curling his pointer finger at Uriel, gesturing for him to follow him, “come. We shall continue your studies,” making his way to the desk and taking a piece of parchment before he reached for a quill and started scribbling something that all Uriel could hear was the scratching sound of the inked tip of the quill meeting the rather rough surface of the parchment paper.

“Pardon me, your highness, but you must be exhausted from today,” Uriel didn’t quite know where he had gotten such courage to speak against the will of the prince but this prince was seemingly stubborn, “perhaps you might want to-”

“Uriel,” the prince’s voice was low, lower than most men he had ever met, and yet it was much lower and quite louder, seemingly that of a rumbling growl, a warning which had the guard immediately regret his boldness. Zelos, with his back turned on his guard, slightly bent down on the desk, had lifted his head up and didn’t move or speak for a few beats, “come.”

The guard took a deep breath, holding it in as he walked towards the prince, standing just a few steps behind, “yes, your highness,” curtly bowing his head despite not being looked at by the other. Zelos simply tapped the table, pointing to what he had written, “read,” he said as he turned to rest his thigh up on the desk, facing his guard as he waited for him to do what he was told.

“It is… the alphabet, your highness,”

“I did not ask you what it is. I asked you to read it,” suppressing the instinctive move to roll his eyes at the other man.

Uriel took another deep breath and looked down at the piece of parchment, “yes, your-” suddenly cut off by the slam of the prince’s hand on top of the parchment, nearly startling the young guard, “enough with the ‘your highness’, Uriel. There is no one here but you and me,” exasperated and sighing heavily, “I am giving you permission to call me by my name.”

With that, the guard flicked his eyes at the prince without hiding the bewildered expression on his face. From what he had heard and what he has been told, the crown prince was quite a handful. The young man had a bit of a temper which would only show in sudden outbursts or dismissal of post. It has been said that Prince Zelos was a man of few words and was quite cold to his servants. Uriel had mentally prepared himself in dealing with the prince but nothing had prepared him, nor did he even expect, for the prince to ask, nay, command him to call him by his name as if they were equals. Blinking rapidly with his brows furrowed in astonishment and confusion, Uriel parted his lips to speak, “your hi-”

“That is a command, Uriel,” the prince’s expression was almost unreadable but Uriel could tell that the prince was quite smug about being able to command his guard with such things. Again, he had no other choice but to succumb and follow. He bowed his head in resignation and lifted it back again with a cleared expression on his face. Uriel kept his gaze upon the prince as he gathered the courage to do as he was told. His lips parted once more and this time, it was not another ‘your highness’,

“Prince Zelos,”

Zelos scoffed, lowering his head as if to hide the soft chuckle that he just made, a rare scene as the prince had never been seen smiling, and Uriel could confirm such even with the short time that he had been assigned to the young royal. The prince nodded his head as he lifted his head and glanced back up to the other man, “fair enough.” Lifting his hand from the parchment paper, Zelos then pointed to the letters he had written in no particular order for Uriel to read and recall, “point and read.”

Uriel obeyed, doing what he was told and had begun to be tested by the prince once had recited his letters by writing words on the paper. It had been several nights since Zelos had begun to teach his guard how to read and the prince was quite pleased with the rapid development, “well done,” he said simply before he walked to the other side of his desk and pulled a drawer to reach and take out a book. Uriel’s eyes were trained to be on the prince and he had noticed a small, almost just a shadow of a smile that appeared on Zelos’ features. It was fleeting and Uriel blinked his eyes a few times as if to refocus it. It must be playing tricks on him as the moon was now quite high up in the sky and soon, it shall be near dawn.

The prince pulled the chair back and stood beside it before flicking his gaze up at Uriel, “sit down,” which had the guard confused for a moment. He didn’t question the command, as it seemed it was such, and made his way to the prince. For a moment, he just stood there and glanced at the flaxen-haired prince. Zelos gave the soldier a gaze before he moved his eyes to the chair and back at the other, silently gesturing for him to sit on the chair within the next few seconds. Uriel lowered his head, obliging to the prince’s desires, and sat down.

“You shall be able to read within this week,” Zelos said simply as he put the book in front of Uriel, laying it on the table, “read the title,” Uriel’s grey eyes fell upon the old book which was in a surprisingly good shape despite having slightly tattered corners and faded colors. He slowly read the title which was written in dull gold letters before he glanced to the side, simply looking at the prince at his peripheral, “very well read. Start reading at the first page,” at that, Uriel gently turned the cover and onto the first page, reading the title once more before proceeding to the page where there was a drawn image in dull colors with words written underneath. The soldier blinked twice as he studied the picture first before taking a deep breath and starting to read the words carefully.

Every now and then, Zelos would correct Uriel at how he read but the guard had read half of the storybook quite well that the prince was mostly quiet, simply reading another book of his own, or it seemed that way. At some point, Uriel had started to struggle at a few words that he hadn’t recognized. The prince closed the book he held with a soft thud and set it down on the table before placing his arm on the backrest of the chair, his other hand on the book he had just set, and leaned over to look at where his guard had been struggling to read. Zelos’ eyes narrowed slightly before they returned back to their normal state as he lifted his hand from the closed book to point to the words on the storybook which Uriel had been reading, “ _‘quenched his thirst and hunger with a bit of bouillon, immediately warming up his stomach’_ ,” he read slowly, pointing to each word he had spoken as clearly as he could.

Uriel followed the prince’s finger and listened carefully, taking a mental note of how each word was pronounced. It was proving to be rather challenging, possibly more challenging than when he was still starting out his combat training. Zelos tapped the first word he had read once he finished reading the sentence, “repeat after me, _‘quenched’_ ,” his warm breath tickling the side of Uriel’s cheek and his ear, making him flinch slightly, pulling his body inwards but quickly straightened his back once more after he realized how his body reacted. The sharp blue eyes of the prince briefly softened as he let out a quick chuckle, “were you tickled by my breath?” smirking at the silver-haired soldier as he lowered himself a little more so he could see the man’s face better, “you do not flinch at swords and fists yet you flinch at the warm air to your ear,” he spoke with his tone clearly amused.

“N- y-yes, you- Prince Zelos, my apologies,” feeling a bit of warmth rising up to his face and Uriel could only pray to the gods not let his blood color his cheeks or he would be even more embarrassed.

“What is there to apologize about?” Zelos raised his brow at Uriel, still keeping his close proximity to the soldier’s face, eyes still fixated on the man’s face, “apart from you not reading the word I pointed to,” the amusement on his face hadn't left and Uriel could see it from his peripheral. The soldier nodded and focused his eyes on the page of the book, placing his forefinger on the book, trying to find the word where the prince had pointed to. Zelos’ smirk seemed to be plastered on his face now as he lifted his hand and took Uriel’s hand to bring his finger underneath the word he had told him to read, “this one, Uriel,” only then did they notice the significant difference of size between their hands, “read, _‘quenched’_ ,” Zelos repeated.

Uriel blinked a few times, not quite sure where to set his focus: on the warmth of his cheeks which were now likely tinged with pink, the warm breath near his face, the hand on his own or… Gulping down the lump in his throat, the soldier repeated the word which seemed to have pleased the prince as he guided Uriel’s finger to under each word he wanted him to read until they finished the sentence.

“You did well, Uriel,” Zelos said as he slowly slid off his hand from the soldier’s and Uriel swallowed once more and let out the air he didn’t realize he had been holding, “thank you, Prince Zelos,” giving a small bow with his head before he glanced back up at the prince who was still quite near him that he was almost taken by surprise. The prince smirked once more and brought his hand underneath Uriel’s chin, his fore and middle finger under the soldier’s chin and his thumb just under the other’s lips, lifting his face up as he kept his gaze on Uriel’s face. Zelos’ piercing azure eyes seemed to bore into Uriel’s soul but he fought to maintain his gaze on the prince, doing his best not to be intimidated. The prince’s smirk showed up once more and he tilted his head slightly to one side, “you must rest. Your eyes are showing fatigue,” his voice hushed as if whispering a secret to be kept between them.

“I can say the same thing to you, my prince,”

For a moment, Zelos was rather… stunned. The words Uriel spoke were simple, possibly out of line with how the soldier was quite careful around him that he did not expect it from him, unlike the king’s guard, who spoke quite freely around royals and those who were above him. He had known Uriel only for a short period of time and yet the man had shown a respectful work ethic that his words had him thrown off course. The way the man had spoken as well as how he had addressed him, ‘my prince’, of which he had never heard from the soldier ever since he met the man. It was hard to admit but he felt quite flustered that he didn’t quite know what to say.

Blinking once, his eyes widened slightly. He could feel some warmth rising that he pulled his hand back and stood up straight, “very well, let us retire for the night,” turning away from the soldier and walking towards his bed whilst he started to loosen the strings from his clothes, starting to undress when he raised his hand and flicked it twice, “you are dismissed.”

Uriel felt the warmth on his cheeks slowly fade as the prince turned his back from him. Of course, he had immediately stood up and followed the monarch. When he was dismissed, he felt a peculiar sinking sensation in his stomach that he wasn’t quite familiar with. Even so, he put his heels together, standing up tall and straight as he placed his right fist over his chest and bowing before making his way towards the door, walking backward, “have a good night, your majesty,” taking his leave from the prince’s chambers and closing the door upon his exit.

* * *

Grunts, thuds, and loud clanging of steel can be heard throughout the training ground. Thanatos had been keeping a watchful eye and going around through the area, teaching the young soldiers as they trained with their seniors. It was under the heat of the sun yet cooled with the cool breeze which meant autumn was near and so was the first battle. With a deep inhale, Thanatos turned to the center platform to overlook the training from there. However, as he had spun around, he saw that someone was already on the platform. A shadow of a smirk showed on his features before he approached the ivory-skinned man, looking him right to his eyes without a hint of intimidation from his scarred eye. Thanatos stood next to the polemarchos and narrowed his eyes to slowly scan the training area, standing next to the highest-ranking officer in silence for a couple of beats before he finally parted his lips to speak, “I heard someone is getting another horse,” he said quietly, not bothering to spare a glance at the other.

If there was one thing Raphael was proud of in terms of his own skills, it was his skill of stealth. Granted, he had always been quiet and stealthy, which was why he had successfully pickpocketed when he was still a little boy. Of course, the soldiers who had caught him that one unfortunate time did not treat him kindly simply because he was still a boy. It was only that one general had found his talent quite useful and he had handpicked him when he came of age to start training to be a soldier. Fourteen years later, Raphael became the youngest polemarchos of the last half a century.

The ivory-skinned young man merely grunted at first in response to Thanatos’ words. The general’s brows furrowed slightly, clearly showing a hint of vexation from the other’s lack of response, “must be great to be by the royals’ side. Parthos has gotten an attitude whenever I train whilst riding,” he continued as if to make conversation. Raphael remained silent as he kept scanning the training ground as if not hearing anything worth responding to. Of course, this only irked the other even more, “Raphael, you know I have been requesting a new horse for the past two years,” turning his head to finally look at the other man, only seeing his scarred eye which the man refused to cover.

A glimmer of amusement showed at the corners of Raphael’s lips before he finally responded to Thanatos, “is that so? I hadn’t had an inkling,” not taking his eyes off of the training young men. It was at the sarcastic remark that Thanatos took a deep breath and started to whine ever so slightly at the supreme commander himself, “Raphael! I do not need a stallion. I could deal with a mare! In fact, I would prefer a mare. Stallions are much too stubborn and prideful. Parthos should just be a wagon horse,” keeping his voice down so as not to be heard by others.

“You may have my new horse,” Raphael said quietly, fighting tooth and nail not to show any signs of amusement on his facial expression at his general’s complaints. Thanatos’ eyes widened by a large margin considering his eyes were already quite narrow and rather slanted on a normal basis, “could I really?!” doing his best not to show too much excitement, and yet it clearly colored his tone. Realizing this, Thanatos cleared his throat and lowered his voice, “I would gladly take it. It is irreversible now,” he said as he turned his gaze away from the other man to pretend as if he was still keeping an eye on the trainees.

Raphael let out a quick breath as he straightened himself and stepped down the platform, “the gods must be smiling upon you, I received a mare,” he said simply as if bidding the general farewell whilst walking towards a young man to show him the proper hold on a spear.

As the two had separated to help with the training, the sudden shift in the air had both Raphael and Thanatos quickly look up and turn their heads towards where the shift started. The familiar blond head can be seen shining brightly amongst the crowd, standing a few steps behind him was the slender, grey-maned young general. The two had walked towards the platform at the middle of the training ground, with the trainees parting, making a straight path for the prince.

Thanatos was quick to shove the sword back into the hand of the young man to make his way to the platform whilst Raphael took a heavy breath and let it out before also walking towards the platform. Zelos had stood at the center, with his guard standing near him, as all the young men halted from their training, eyes fixated on the young prince. Raphael and Thanatos stood before the prince, keeping themselves simply in front of the platform as they bowed simultaneously, to which the crowd was quick to follow, looking incredibly seamless.

Zelos simply turned his head ever so slightly to the side, in the direction where Uriel stood, and the general bellowed, “back to training!” and the young lads were quick to follow what they were told. Raphael and Thanatos took that as a cue to walk up the platform to stand near the prince, “your highness,” the dark-haired general greeted before the supreme commander had his turn, “your highness,” and with that, Thanatos took a step back to glance at the grey-eyed general next to him. The two exchanged a quick look before they set their eyes ahead once more.

“How are they faring?” the prince inquired without sparing a glance at the commander next to him; his icy blue eyes slowly gazed over the training ground, taking a few steps to the side and turned around to see the other trainees on the opposite side. The soldiers moved along with the prince, maintaining their positions as to their ranks. Raphael took a deep breath and responded in a rather monotonous voice, “they have started two full moons ago, and yet not half of them are prepared for battle,” the commander wasn’t known for sugar-coating his words and that seemed to be appreciated by the king himself yet Zelos found it to be callous of him.

The prince scoffed and turned his head to give the brunette a sharp glare, “then you must not be doing your job properly,”

“I lead them, not train them,” he retorted without missing a beat, eyes locked with the prince’s, not backing down from his gaze.

“How can you lead untrained troops?”

Raphael was just about to open his mouth once more to retort when Thanatos cleared his throat and immediately stepped up between the two, making sure to give enough breathing and respectable space to the prince, “your highness, that would be upon me,” taking full responsibility of the state of the new soldiers, “I shall see to it that they are pr-”

Zelos raised his hand, keeping his gaze upon the unyielding commander, “see to it that they are ready before the next new moon,” Thanatos hit his heels together and placed his fist upon his left chest and gave a small bow with his head, “yes, your highness,”

“Commander?” now raising an eyebrow at the other man, awaiting his response. For a few moments, it was as if no one dared to breathe among the four people upon the platform. The loud, overlapping sounds of the young soldiers seemed to have been dulled and drowned out. It was only after such a staredown with the prince himself that Raphael placed his fist upon his chest and bowed his head, “yes… your highness.”

Uriel had an inkling that the commander and the prince were not fond of each other because Raphael wasn’t keen on being careful with his words even in front of or to people of higher ranking than himself. The man only took orders from the king himself, and no one else, perhaps, appearing to belittle the young prince. However, his gut told him that there was simply more than the issue of ranks and courteousness.

“Your highness,” the prince’s guard finally spoke, “archery,” he said as he stood by the prince, standing adjacent to the blond and holding the pommel of his sword, lowering it slightly. Zelos took one last sharp gaze at the commander and turned around to step down from the platform. Uriel lowered his head as the prince walked past him and just as the royal had his back turned, he stole a quick glance at Raphael and Thanatos before he promptly followed the prince.

Zelos walked with such grace and poise that Uriel could easily tell when the prince was in one of his moods which he cannot seem to suppress. The royal marched off in his version of furiously walking that it made him walk faster than he normally would. The young general effortlessly kept up with the prince back to the palace. Of course, he would not be one to prompt the monarch of where he was supposed to be heading so Uriel kept quiet and simply followed.

“Uriel,” the sudden call of his name by the prince had the guard take a longer stride to walk nearly side by side with the other. He bowed his head slightly to show that he was ready to listen and take orders when Zelos continued, “you are to accompany me in every lesson and meeting I attend. You shall learn more in that manner,”

The abruptness of the topic had the general quite confused and yet he bowed his head to acknowledge it, “yes, your highness,” at that, the prince suddenly halted and he turned his head sharply, glancing up at the soldier beside him, “you shall also learn to call me something else in public. I have had enough of ‘your highness's,” his blue eyes looking quite frazzled that Uriel wasn’t able to help his expression from looking quite concerned.

“Prince Zelos,” his voice low and quiet, making sure to keep it from prying ears which were everywhere. Uriel took half a step closer, looking down at the prince who still had such frantic eyes, “take a breath,” he whispered, his hand automatically reaching for the prince’s forearm, giving it a gentle squeeze before he took a deep breath for himself, that of which Zelos had mirrored without thinking, and slowly let the air out.

Uriel’s eyes made micro-movements, studying the prince’s facial expression and feeling his pulse through his wrist which slowly started to lower after he exhaled. Zelos blinked, eyes refocusing on the man in front of him as he stayed silent for a couple more beats. The general pulled his hand away once he was certain that the other’s pulse had slowed down to a more normal rate and the prince took one last inhale and let out the air as he shrugged his shoulders before turning back to where he was supposed to head as he fixed his vest and held his head high once more, “I appreciate it,” he murmured, loud enough to be heard by Uriel but soft enough to be inaudible from others who might be lurking the halls.

The prince had begun to walk once more and he seemed to be gliding across the floor again, just as how he always walked. Uriel kept the smile from his face as it was retained in his mind, following the prince once more as they headed to the courtyard and making their way to the prince’s archery practice just in time where the prince was eager to start and had aced nearly every single pattern asked of him. He could only assume what Zelos could see up ahead on the target.


	3. Brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uriel had been spending more late nights with the prince teaching him how to read that he has been getting less and less sleep. Out of curiosity, Uriel asked Raphael why the prince seems to dislike him.
> 
> Chapter Warning: just an additional note that there are mentions of nudity and graphic violence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I placed this quick guide on both beginning and ending notes in the hopes of easier access to the guide. 
> 
> Characters:  
> Hyunjin - Uriel, prince’s guard/general (Starategos or Stratigos)  
> Felix - Zelos, prince of Stragos  
> Bang Chan - Raphael, king’s guard/supreme commander (Polemarchos)  
> Changbin - Thanatos, general (Starategos or Stratigos)
> 
> Locations:  
> Stragos - kingdom of Zelos  
> Themorinth - neighboring kingdom  
> Creathos - an ally kingdom of Stragos  
> Agres - an ally kingdom of Stragos
> 
> Others:  
> King Cleon - king of Themorinth

Uriel tilted his head from side to side, making a cracking sound in order to relieve a bit of pain from his neck. It had been a while since he had taken a visit from the healer who was more than happy to give a bit of massage with a soothing balm in exchange for certain herbs and oils which were hard to obtain. Since Uriel had been locked inside the confinements of the castle grounds due to his new position as the prince’s guard, he hadn’t found a way to obtain anything for the healer from the passing merchants. 

Sighing, he went to the barracks, to the enclosed area considered as his bedroom, which he shared with Thanatos. He thought of them as quite fortunate to be only two people to share such a small space unlike most soldiers, even the other generals had three to five people to share their sleeping quarters with. Uriel had removed his armor before going to his quarters that only the black inner clothing was left untucked from his pants to cover his torso. It was a rather chilly night but having spent nights sleeping out in the cold since he was a young boy, this was perfectly warm enough. 

Upon entering the quarters, Thanatos was already there, hair still wet that strands of it clung on his forehead, with only a cloth around his waist covering his private part. The younger general groaned and made a disgusted facial expression, “I am incredibly sick of seeing you like this,” heading straight to the trunk where he kept his clothes and started to dig out what he was changing into, “hurry and put on your clothes,” Uriel snapped before closing the flimsy trunk and sitting upon the elevated section of the quarters to unlace his boots.

“Hurry and go to sleep. Perhaps you may still see daylight tomorrow,” Thanatos said simply whilst he sat down on the elevated section with a rather relaxed pose as he looked at the other man, “you look as if you were already in the battlefield,” scoffing softly as he scrunched one side of his nose, “what else have you been doing in the palace apart from following the prince around?”

Uriel ignored the teasing from the other general as he was very much ready to take a bit of sleep before he goes back to his duties once more, “he is much more demanding than I thought he would be,” he said with a soft sigh as he was reminded of the reading lessons during the wee hours of the night, attending every meeting and lesson that the prince had where he was expected to participate, but most of all, the numerous times that Prince Zelos had commanded him to remove his clothing for him instead of having a servant do so had flashed in his mind that he winced and threw the boots to the side.

“Uriel, we knew he would be demanding. He’s a royal! They are very good at being demanding without an inkling of an idea of what it takes to achieve the results they expect,” Thanatos huffed and let out hot air through his nose that the other glanced at him and raised a brow, “are we here to talk about our problems?” pausing for a moment and grimacing as he noticed how the other man sat, body still damp with his knees parted, the towel barely covering his manhood.

With another displeased look, Uriel pushed himself up to stand, snatching his clothes and towel with him, “I most certainly do not miss seeing you and every other soldier in your bare state,” heading straight out of the quarters, only to hear Thanatos laughing behind him.

Upon arriving at the common bathing area for the soldiers, Uriel was lucky enough that most were still on duty or have already finished cleaning up for the day that there were only at least four other men in the bath. He was greeted and he simply gave a curt nod as he hung his clothes on one of the pegs before taking a stool and a bucket to take water for himself. Upon readying himself for the sudden splash of cold water against his bare body, Uriel took one deep breath and dumped the water on himself to get himself wet as quickly as possibly. He fought the teeth chattering by clenching his jaw and drew out another bucket full of water to douse himself with it. 

The grey-haired general shivered slightly at the coldness of the water, his warm ivory skin glistening with both the water and the sweat from the day. As he didn’t want to linger like other soldiers seem to be fond of, Uriel snatched a strigil and began to scrape off the perspiration, dirt and water from his skin as efficiently as he could. His focus was on finishing his bath as quickly as possible that he was rather startled when the door had flung open, more so when he flicked his eyes up to see the king’s guard with only a towel wrapped around his waist, obviously, ready to take his bath as well.

The rest of the soldiers in the bath, who had only been sharing their most recent escape at the brothel not too far from outside the palace walls, seemed to be rather startled and went pale upon seeing the man who entered. The brothel has been quite popular amongst soldiers to relieve stress and have a bit of enjoyment to themselves. Of course, Uriel was no stranger to a brothel but he found it more convenient when the maidens came to him instead. He would get some relief and he also would also save his coins. However, hearing such ridiculous stories from these men was simply something he would rather not have, which was why it was such a relief for him to see Raphael come in.

Three…

Two…

One…

“Pleasant evenin’, commander. Pardon us, we were just leaving,”

Raphael did not even bat an eyelash when the soldiers scurried off as he grabbed a bucket and strigil, heading straight to the drum of water and splashing himself from his head, letting out a sigh at the cool water hitting his skin. With skin as pale as the moon, the commander seemed to always stand out from amongst the soldiers. If Uriel didn’t know better, he’d say Raphael must be a high-born especially with how he carried himself, how he spoke and how smart he was. There had always been something about Raphael that was different compared to regular people just like himself and Thanatos.

“You were just in time,” Uriel chuckled softly as he now took his time in scraping his skin of dirt, feeling at ease with his friend, “Pietro was about to go into detail on how Hellen had made him come over and over again,” shuddering as he spoke. Saying it out loud made it even more appalling for him that he grimaced once more and pursed his lips before he flicked his gaze back at Raphael and gave a small smile, “I have not seen you in a while, Raphael,” his greyish-blue eyes softening along with his facial features.

“We have seen each other a few days ago, have we not?” Raphael asked as turned his head slightly to face the other man. His features may be sharp and rather intimidating but to Uriel, he will always be like a big brother to him. They simply do not know Raphael as he does, “I meant we haven’t spent much time together as we used to,” forcing a toothless smile as he lowered his gaze down to the strigil in his hand, lightly tapping the curved metal against his thigh.

Raphael paused in scraping off his skin of dirt, inner brows going up as the ends go down, making an expression which was limited to very few people, and putting a hand over Uriel’s shoulder, “Uriel, we may have not as much time together as we used to, but you know you could always come to me for anything, yes?” tugging one corner of his lips, offering a small smile.

The younger man took a deep breath as he lifted his gaze back up at the other, looking at Raphael’s dual-toned eyes and nodding his head. Uriel found solace in the mere presence of the other that he immediately felt some sort of relief despite not having said anything just yet. Raphael raised his brows up, eyes slightly widening, nodding his head just a little to urge the other to speak what was on his mind. For a moment, Uriel hesitated but he swallowed his hesitation and parted his lips to speak, “the prince often seemed to become incredibly irritated whenever the two of you encountered each other… I know you were his guard for a few weeks-”

“Two weeks,”

Blinking rapidly, Uriel simply gazed at Raphael as he watched him take a deep breath and lick his lips as if preparing himself to say something… life-changing, “I was his temporary guard for two weeks whilst we were in Themorinth for King Cleon’s symposium,” his voice was only guarded and cold when he spoke to others or on duty but tonight, Raphael’s voice was low and quite different from how he spoke to Uriel in private. 

At the mention of Themorinth, Uriel’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, “...you mean…?”

“Yes,”

For a moment, the two were silent. Raphael seemed to simply allow Uriel to process it for himself first. The younger man’s features were now quite grave as he spoke to raise a question, “it was not your mistake… was it not?”

Raphael shook his head, “no, that was an entirely different matter altogether. However, the reason why we- the prince is always irritable during our encounters is because of what happened between us,” With Uriel’s face painted with confusion, he tilted his head slightly to the side and asked, “what happened?”

And again, the commander shook his head, “it is not for me to say as I would not want to slander the prince,” patting Uriel’s upper arm before he turned to douse his body with water once more and continuing to clean himself, “now, hurry and finish up. Your lips are turning blue, my friend.”

* * *

“Get up!”

Uriel groaned as he turned on his side from having slept on his belly, wincing as he tried to pry his eyes open. He was quite sure it was still rather dark but to his surprise, there was already a bit of sunlight streaking from the crevices of their quarters.

“Did you forget you have duty today, Uriel?! Get up! The prince has been summoning you!”

Jolting right up, Uriel scrambled to lace up his boots. He had learned that it was easier to put all his regular undergarments and sleep in them rather than put them on together with his uniform whenever he was on duty. Since he had been assigned as the prince’s guard, he was always on duty. However, now that he was running late, he might not have the same position after today.

With a tie for his hair between his teeth, the grey-maned general ran off to the palace and to the courtyard where the prince took his weapons’ training, rushing to tie his hair off of his face. He did not care if it was an utter wreck as long as he wouldn’t be sanctioned about it too. Uriel arrived near the courtyard and slowed down from running to not appear incredibly disarrayed.

Prince Zelos held a spear in his hand, twirling the weapon across his body to which the teacher had been watching carefully with a critical eye. Zelos maintained his focus and eyes up ahead even as he heard the halting footsteps and seeing his guard at the corner of his eye. Hay poles with targets surrounded the prince and after a show of skill in maneuvering the spear, Zelos hit each target in rapid succession, purposefully ending it with the last target which was right next to where Uriel had stood. 

The piercing blue eyes were concentrated that they did not show how much his tardiness had angered the prince, which was quite possibly more terrifying than being outnumbered by fifty men in a fight. Uriel did not flinch and kept his eyes ahead. A beat later, he saluted the prince with his fist on his chest, hitting his heels together and bowing down. This time around, his bow was quite low that his upper body was almost parallel to the ground.

“Scourge,” Zelos said simply as he walked away from Uriel and sat down on the stone bench in the courtyard, a servant immediately fanning the prince as one soldier stepped in with a scourge in his hand.

Uriel took a deep breath and stood up straight once more. Walking to the middle of the courtyard, in front of the prince, the general bent one knee and lowered his head, “my apologies, your majesty. Neglecting my duty is unforgivable. I shall take whatever punishment you deem necessary,” 

The blond prince didn’t seem to be fazed at all as he kept his steely gaze upon his guard who was still on his knee. Lifting his right hand with two fingers raised, Zelos bent his fingers ever so slightly as a gesture of command to the other soldier who held the scourge, “ten lashes,” the deep voice of the prince seemed to have come from the earth and the soldier didn’t move for two seconds that the prince flicked his gaze at the other man, “if you so as much hesitate or soften the blow simply because he is your general, you shall receive three-fold of the same punishment,” his tone as cold as the winter blizzard, “and you,” eyes focusing back on the man on his knee, “eyes on me,” 

The young general lifted his gaze at the prince who sat regally on the bench as if it was the throne itself. As their eyes met, Uriel could feel a chill course throughout his body before he felt himself warm up then suddenly get cold once more. He wondered if the prince was an enchanted creature who could manipulate other beings with a simple gaze. Zelos lowered his chin as he fixed his gaze upon Uriel, “if you tear your eyes away from me before the ten lashes are finished, I shall add five more,” he said simply before flicking his two fingers and lowering his hands on either sides, resting them on the cool surface of the bench.

With that, the soldier held the whip and took a few steps back so as to properly take aim on Uriel’s back. The grey-maned general took a deep breath and slowly let it out through his slightly parted lips whilst he kept his eyes locked with the prince’s gaze, holding the hilt of his sword with one hand, and the other arm rested upon his lifted knee to help keep his balance. Within the next second, a loud cracking sound echoed throughout the courtyard, causing the birds to flutter away from the trees, making a rustling sound along with it. Uriel’s eyes narrowed for the briefest of moments before he steeled himself to ignore the searing pain upon his back. 

Two, thunderous cracks followed in rapid succession that caused the general to wince. Uriel fought tooth and nail to keep his composure, staying true to his word in accepting the punishment that was bestowed upon him. It had been a while since he had been flogged that he was unable to contain the vociferous howl of pain that escaped his lungs when he was whipped in another two consecutive lashes. He took a sharp inhale and growled, clenching his jaw as his teeth grinded against each other, eyes watering as he forced himself to keep his focus on the prince who did not seem to show any color of emotion on his features or body language. 

The powerful whips echoed and rang his ears that he did not notice the sound of a set of footsteps coming in until it halted and the familiar voice boomed, “that is enough.” Eyebrows furrowing as he blinked away the tears which formed in his eyes, Uriel breathed heavily, trying his best to ignore the searing pain on his back as he was sure that his clothes had been torn by now. 

“General Uriel had been with me up until dawn discussing our defenses. If you want to punish anyone, then you may punish me… your highness,” the voice of the polemarchos echoed in the courtyard that it was as if everything stood still. Not a single bird can be heard, nor the rustling of the trees, nor a breath of a single person in that courtyard. 

“Commander Raphael,” the prince drawled as if he was amused at the sudden appearance of the commander, except, his face certainly said otherwise, “he is my guard and I should not need to list out his duties,”

“I am the supreme commander. Should Your Highness has a problem with any of my soldiers, report them to me and I shall see to it that they receive the proper punishment,” Raphael’s voice was stern and firm before he glanced at Uriel and turned his head slightly to allow two soldiers with him to help the wounded general up on his feet, “take him to the physician.”

Prince Zelos merely kept his gaze upon the grey-maned general being whisked away, not uttering a single word until Uriel was out of sight, “surely, you know your place, commander,” eyes flicking up at the pale-skinned man, forcing a small smirk on his own features in order to appear non-threatening despite everything else about him saying otherwise.

Raphael was not fazed in the slightest as he kept a steady gaze upon the prince, “certainly, your highness. The soldiers, all of them, are under my command. If I recall correctly, we are ruled by the crown, the king and him alone,” the polemarchos lifted his chin as he straightened himself to face the prince, hitting his heels and his fist to his chest before lowering his upper body slightly into a bow, “Your highness,” making the rest of the soldiers with him to do the same action before they followed Raphael who had already turned around to make his exit when the prince spoke,

“Commander, tell Uriel that he is to report to me for his… reading lessons once he is able to stand on his feet,”

Not bothering to respond, Raphael simply took a quick breath and lowered his head slightly as if to nod and comply with the prince’s order as he continued to make his way through the palace halls, cursing the prince in his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick Question!  
> "Would you like me to include snippets of their childhood or just focus on the present story?"
> 
> Characters:  
> Hyunjin - Uriel, prince’s guard/general (Starategos or Stratigos)  
> Felix - Zelos, prince of Stragos  
> Bang Chan - Raphael, king’s guard/supreme commander (Polemarchos)  
> Changbin - Thanatos, general (Starategos or Stratigos)
> 
> Locations:  
> Stragos - kingdom of Zelos  
> Themorinth - neighboring kingdom  
> Creathos - an ally kingdom of Stragos  
> Agres - an ally kingdom of Stragos
> 
> Others:  
> King Cleon - king of Themorinth


	4. Duel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Uriel's punishment, he has stayed under the watchful eye of the palace physician. Even while healing, Prince Zelos has a task for his guard which he is required to show on the day he reports back for duty. The prince also trains with Uriel and not just having him observe from the sidelines.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: mentions of scars and wounds  
> This was a few days late but still, I hope you guys like it!
> 
> Characters:  
> Hyunjin - Uriel, prince’s guard/general (Starategos or Stratigos)  
> Felix - Zelos, prince of Stragos  
> Chan - Raphael, king’s guard/supreme commander (Polemarchos)  
> Changbin - Thanatos, general (Starategos or Stratigos)
> 
> Locations:  
> Stragos - kingdom of Zelos  
> Themorinth - neighboring kingdom  
> Creathos - an ally kingdom of Stragos  
> Agres - an ally kingdom of Stragos

Sleeping would have been more enjoyable if Uriel were able to move and lay on his back instead of having to constantly lay on his belly or on his side. With the aid of the physician, the wounds on his back had been steadily healing but whenever he tried to get up to put on his clothes and go back for his duty, the physician would whack his head with the thin baton he seemed to hold often. 

Uriel had been incredibly uneasy doing absolutely nothing for nearly two days now. The young man had been used to being on his feet and doing something, not laying down and waiting for his body to heal. Waiting was certainly more painful to him than his wounds that he decided to try and get up to escape once more. Uriel pushed himself up to sit from the bed, tilting his head from side to side to stretch out his neck before moving, pulling his arm to his chest to stretch it as well but wincing when he felt his back sting with the movement.

The young general pushes himself to stand from the bed, looking around for his clothes. Uriel crept around the physician’s room, trying to find something more suitable to wear apart from simply his undergarments when he suddenly hears the door opening and immediately sits back down on the bed he had been laying down on. The old physician can be heard speaking to someone before he smacked the thin baton against the door that made Uriel jump in surprise. 

“Ahh, General Uriel, you were not trying to run off again, were you?” 

Uriel’s head snapped to face the physician, making sure not to show any expressions on his features. However, his eyes widened ever so slightly upon seeing who the physician was speaking to. The familiar dual-toned eyes seemed to bore into his soul with just a simple gaze. Raphael showed a small smile that was rarely seen even by those close to the man, mainly Thanatos and Uriel himself, “you see, Commander, this young man is doing well yet still unfit to report back to his duty,” the physician proclaimed as he pointed at the general sitting on the bed and gave him a sharp look at the last few words.

“Thank you, Master Almaeon. I shall see to it that General Uriel shall only be reporting back to duty upon your approval,” Raphael said with a slight bow of his head, facing the physician, offering that small smile once more before raising his head and flicking his eyes up at the older man, “may I have a word with him in private?” to which the physician agreed to, showering compliments on the commander before taking his leave.

As the physician left, Raphael grabbed the door handle, pulling it from the wall and pushing it towards the threshold to close, making a soundly thud of wood against the heavy, stone walls. For a moment, Uriel was silent, just gazing at the broad back of the other man, unsure whether he was there as his commander or as his friend. It was only when Raphael turned around and showed a sullenly exhausted expression that the younger one knew that Raphael will always be both ever since he had been bestowed to be a polemarchos. 

“I deserved it. I deserved it, Raphael,” Uriel claimed immediately, shifting in his seat to face the other man, making his back sting a little even with such small movements. Raphael took a few steps closer, tilting his head slightly as if trying to look at the younger one’s back,

“How are you feeling?” his brows rising up a little as he stood in front of the elevated bed where Uriel was sitting on, less than a meter of distance between them, “Master Almaeon told me you had been-”

Uriel’s brows furrowed as he quickly cut off the other man from speaking, “I am not a child, Raphael. You did not have to _rescue_ me from my punishment,” his voice lower than usual as he showed frustration and vexation from what had happened the other day.

The commander kept his concerned gaze on the ashen-maned man for a second or two before straightening his head back up and nodding his head, “of course,” taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling as lowered his gaze to the hand that had closed into a fist on Uriel’s thigh. Raphael had been reigning himself in, doing his best not to give the young man before him any sort of special treatment simply because they had known each other ever since they had been running around the town, causing chaos when they were still little kids. It had certainly been difficult for him, especially when it came down to Uriel, which was exactly why his vision seemed to have darkened upon hearing from Thanatos that the younger general had been summoned several times by the prince since his own guard was late for duty. There was panic in him and his initial reaction was to protect Uriel.

“However, I merely pointed out the chain of command when it comes to my soldiers,” his voice suddenly lowers and becomes monotonous as he lifted his gaze back up at Uriel, making the younger man feel a brief shiver down his spine, “you are still due for sanction, that of which you shall be notified upon Master Almaeon’s approval of your discharge.”

At this, Uriel’s expression immediately changed from his steely and defiant gaze to a sudden trepidation, “wait, Raphael-!” reaching out at the commander’s arm who had spun around and walked towards the door in long and purposeful strides, making Uriel unable to hold onto the other.

The commander stood in front of the door with his back to the patient sitting on the elevated bed, showing such a strong presence, “rest well, Uriel. Stop trying to run off from being treated,” with that, he unbolted the door and headed out before Uriel could say anything else.

The following day, Thanatos had dropped by to visit and had even accidentally smacked Uriel’s arm as he was trying to both console him and scold him. Uriel knew both Thanatos and Raphael only meant well but he had always been the younger one among the three of them that he could not shake off the sensation of them treating him as if he was some fragile little thing. 

“Ah, before I forget, I have something for you,” reaching for his breast pocket and Uriel throwing Thanatos a teasing look, “you did not have to get me anything! But if they are chocolates from Agres-”

“They do not pay us in gold, Uriel,” giving the younger general a brief, vexed look before handing him an envelope. Uriel took the envelope and snorted, “if you are professing your undying love and devotion for me, then you may do so right now,” gesturing at the floor as he playfully flicked his gaze up and down.

“Do you want me to swat your back with Master Almaeon’s stick?”

Uriel chuckled before he winced at the sudden pain even at the minimal movements of his body. As he glanced down at the envelope, he saw his name neatly written against the parchment, making him blink a few times before he turned it around, only to see the seal of the prince of Stragos. At that, Uriel felt as if there was something stuck in his throat which made it difficult for him to swallow. 

“Raphael asked me to hand it to you. Said he forgot to give it to you yesterday which is odd since Raphael never forgets anything. That man has an incredible memory.”

The silver-maned young man pulled the seal with his thumb, opening the envelope as Thanatos kept speaking. Uriel opted to ignore the other as he revealed the letter, his eyes slowly moved from each word to each line, silently mouthing the words as he read the letter. Thanatos observed Uriel for a few seconds and furrowed his brows as he asked, “when did you learn to read?”

“Hush. The prince taught me,” not bothering to lift his gaze as he responded to the other general, eyes fixated upon the letter as he re-read the paragraph he had paused at.

“‘ _The prince_ ’-?” Thanatos repeated in disbelief, “surely, you must be-” being cut off as Uriel raised his hand, concentrating on what he held in his hand. For a moment, the two were silent and Thanatos only spoke when Uriel lowered the letter down to his lap, “well? What did the prince say? Are you still his guard?”

Uriel stared at nothing in particular as he responded to the question after a few seconds, “it is a poem,” gradually lifting his gaze back up to meet Thanatos’ eyes, “a poem for me to memorize and recite when I report for duty.”

* * *

With his head held high and his palace uniform on, Uriel had walked with long strides along the halls of the castle to make his way to the prince’s chambers where he was summoned. His mind played what the physician had told him, or rather, nagged him, on doing once he approves of his discharge from his care. Putting on ointment and balm on the wounds on his back to prevent it from getting infected, wrapping bandages to cover the wounds, changing his clothes… and more things for him to remember. They would have healed anyway even just by washing it with water. It wasn’t his first time getting lashed so he knew how it would end up on his skin. However, the physician was adamant about getting Uriel to take care of his wounds that he could sense a bit of fear in him.

It has been five whole days since the incident and he could hardly wait to be able to do something again. Of course, the prince seemed to make sure that he would not be slacking despite having to rest his body. Uriel had been memorizing the poem written on the letter and reading the books which Master Almaeon had allowed him to borrow. In complete honesty, he had enjoyed being able to read and he knew he was able to read much faster this time around. Perhaps a part of him was looking forward to being able to show the prince the fruits of his labor. 

Standing in front of the door of the prince’s chambers, Uriel took a deep breath prior to lifting his hand and knocking three times on the wooden door before he let himself in. His eyes moved quickly, scanning the room which seemed to be empty. It was only when he saw the bit of steam coming from the crevices of the door at the far end of the room that Uriel stepped in front of it and knocked once more. This time, he heard the familiar deep voice of his majesty, allowing him to come in.

Upon opening the door, steam flooded out and Uriel had to turn his head away for a moment to let it pass by before he turned his gaze back up ahead. It was only after the steam had dispersed that he had realized that the prince was submerged in the bath. Without wasting another second, Uriel hit his heels together and placed his right fist over his chest, giving the prince a bow, “your majesty,” 

Zelos had been given two brigadiers as a temporary replacement for the general assigned to him and he could not have been more disappointed. The other generals were already assigned to the towns they would protect and Thanatos was in charge of training the soldiers so there was no one of higher qualifications. The two _taxiarhos_ (brigadier) were simply too loud and Zelos felt the need to throw knives at them but ultimately decided to keep his composure and separated them by having one guard outside and one inside with him. However, the two guards were ordered to stay outside of his chambers tonight.

The prince glanced up and gave the general a small smirk, “it seems that we have been reunited, haven’t we?” spreading his arms out to rest them against the cool, smooth stone. His blue eyes were dim yet even in such minimal lighting, Uriel could see the sparkle in them. He could only speculate that the prince was prepared to give him a lecture as he wasn’t able to do so on that day.

“Yes, your majesty,” lowering his gaze with a small bow of his head, to which the prince responded with a soft snort,

“It has only been several days and yet you seem to have forgotten what I had commanded you to do,”

The general took a deep breath and lowered his head once more, this time, with a slight dip of his upper body, “I have not forgotten, Prince Zelos,” he responded almost immediately as if scrambling to correct his mistake which only made the blond prince briefly smirk as it disappeared when Uriel lifted his gaze back up once more.

Nodding his head, Zelos tilted his head to one side, stretching the side of his neck as he closed his eyes, “I presume you have received my letter,” he drawled with his deep voice making a low hum in the room.

“I have, Prince Ze-”

“Recite the poem,” cutting off the other man as he tilted his head to the other side for another stretch. Uriel stared at the prince for a few moments before clearing his throat and beginning to recite the poem which he had memorized by heart despite having only learned it a few days ago.

_“...if you and I could escape this fray and live forever,_

_never a trace of age, immortal, I would never fight on the front lines again_

_or command you to the field where men win fame.” (Homer, Illiad)_

Uriel finished reciting the lines which he could still see so clearly in his mind, written so beautifully in the pristine writing of the prince himself. He had not understood most of what was in the poem, and yet the last line spoke to him the most. It had been a month since the declaration of war from Themorinth and Uriel knew there was going to be bloodshed despite being confident in the skills of their men. Being the reason for such a battle, the prince must have been feeling a heavy weight upon his shoulders. 

The prince nodded his head before he pushed himself up to stand from the bath, making the water slosh around him. The oiled and perfumed water slide down on the prince’s lean body, making his porcelain colored skin glisten even in a dim room. Zelos stepped out of the bath and Uriel lifted his head, keeping his gaze up ahead. The prince turned around to take a cloth which hung from the wall, using it to dry himself, and as he did, he called out, “fetch me my clothes,” he said simply.

Uriel did his best to swallow the lump in his throat as he turned to walk over to where the prince’s sleepwear was set down, taking it almost gingerly with both hands before he headed to where the prince stood, “your clothing, Prince Zelos,” bowing his head a little too low as he pushed his arms out, the folded clothing in his hands, offering it to the prince as he did his best to avoid eye contact.

“Uriel,” saying the general’s name in a low timber which seemed to resonate throughout the room, reverberating in Uriel’s chest, “you wash among other men and yet you avoid looking at your prince even after he bathes,” a shadow of a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

The ashen-maned general took a deep breath and lifted his head back up, eyes gazing upon the prince’s face, locking his silver eyes with those blue ones, “I do not want to be disrespectful,” he admitted while Zelos took a few steps closer, closing the distance between them as placed his hand on top of the folded clothing and his other hand underneath the clothing but with his fingertips resting against Uriel’s hand. Zelos pushed the clothing down, making the general lower his arms as the prince slowly slid his hand over the other’s hand, taking the clothing away from him. The prince kept his gaze up at the other, his features showing hints of mischief and playfulness which fazed the general ever so slightly, or at least, it was how he masked it.

“It is disrespectful not to show appreciation at your prince’s body, is it not?”

At that, Uriel lowered his head slightly, his face suddenly showing something different, one that Zelos had yet to see until that very moment. The steel gaze of the general looked much different as they seemed to radiate heat whilst they deliberately moved from the prince’s eyes, down his lips, his collarbones, and going further down south to his abdomen and what laid below his waist. Uriel took his time in gazing at the prince’s bare body even as his eyes went back up as if reviewing what he had just seen before locking his gaze with Zelos once more, “you have a graceful yet firm body, my prince,” Uriel uttered in a low voice of which Zelos has never heard him speak in such way before. 

Zelos’ eyes dilated upon hearing Uriel’s words but moreover, he had addressed him in that manner once more, ‘my prince’. He was unsure why but when it came from the other man, it seemed so...provocative. Uriel kept his gaze upon the prince, a smirk gradually starting to show on his features that he lowered his head slightly, tilting it more towards the prince as he was just slightly shorter than he was. As he did so, the prince’s eyes went back to their usual frigid gaze and snatched his clothes, “you have been off your duty for far too long. You must increase the number of books you read every week,” Zelos snapped whilst he stepped back and turned to the side to put on his clothes.

Uriel bowed his head, hiding the smirk that was widening on his features as he responded, “yes, Prince Zelos,” making sure that his tone did not show any hint of amusement. 

* * *

As he had been commanded, Uriel arrived at the training room where the royals usually take their sword lessons. He had gotten up much earlier as he did not want to be late for his duty once more. On a regular basis, he should report to the prince right away but Prince Zelos had told him to meet him in the training room instead. Uriel had been there many times since serving the prince as the young royal practiced nearly every day. He did not expect the prince to be on the battlefield but as he watched him during his lessons, Uriel was quite sure that the prince was capable of handling a sword and defending himself when it came down to it.

Looking around the massive space, Uriel walked around, eying the training swords, daggers, axes, among other things. His personal choice was a sword, or rather, two swords. A sword in itself has a hefty weight, or at least, a regular bronze or iron blade was. Since he had risen up in rank and received a few more silver coins, Uriel had acquired two swords which were in accordance to his specifications and not the regular xiphos, or leaf-shaped blade.

As he had been going through the blades in the room, he had found one which was tapered. It was the closest thing to the shape of his own sword which he placed down on one spot on the floor and studied the training sword in his hand. It had a good heft, not too light nor was it too heavy but it still felt different compared to the ones he owned. Uriel glanced at the door and when it seemed that the prince wouldn’t be arriving soon, he twirled the sword in his hand, testing out how it felt in his hand whilst he walked towards the middle of the room. When he felt more at ease with it, Uriel started to move.

Swinging and thrusting the tapered sword as he combined it with the movements of his body, his ashen mane flicked and grazed the nape of his neck whilst he swiveled about. The sword made soft, rush sounds in the air as he propelled and maneuvered across the room. Engrossed in his own practice, he barely even noticed that the prince had entered the room and had been watching the general with intent eyes.

It was only when Uriel had felt a shift in the air that he spun around, sword pointed to where the flaxen-haired man stood. Zelos had been leaning one side of his body against the threshold, arms crossed and keeping a resolute gaze on the general. Uriel, let himself breathe through his nose as he lowered the sword, giving the prince a low bow, “your majesty,” staying down for a good few seconds before straightening back up.

Zelos pushed himself from the threshold and sauntered off to stand in front of his guard, giving him a small smile, “you did not have to stop so abruptly on my account,” letting his azure eyes fall down on the tapered sword which Uriel held and back up at the man’s face, “fetch me another one like that,” he said simply, cocking his head to the side where the training weapons were.

Uriel did not waste a moment and was quick to find another one which he brought to offer to the prince, “your majesty,” Zelos lightly scoffed and rolled his eyes, not even giving the sword a glance as he took a deep breath and sighed exasperatedly, “you must learn to address me by name, Uriel. There is no one around but the two of us.”

Nodding his head, Uriel parted his lips and uttered the prince’s name, “Prince Zelos,” which made the blond pursed his lips and took the sword, “eventually, you shall learn to drop formalities around me,” taking a step back as he swung the sword a few times, “for now, we duel.”

The ashen-haired man furrowed his brows slightly in surprise and confusion, “‘we duel’?” he repeated as he gave the prince a look of disbelief, “you are not having a lesson today?”

“Uriel, it is simply too early for your noncompliance to my commands. You heard what I have said, now, position yourself,” looking quite exhausted with his guard not being quick to follow his orders and hurrying so as not to waste precious time, “I am here to learn from you as I have seen you fight before. You must not take it lightly on me, Uriel, do you understand?” raising a brow up at the other man as he lifted his sword, ready to parry. 

The general stared with his brows knitted together as if contemplating and assessing the situation first before he finally cleared his expression and raised his own sword. Zelos appeared to be quite pleased as Uriel could see the slight curving of the side of his lip whilst he started to move to the side, keeping his eyes locked on the flaxen-haired man. 

In one swift movement, Uriel thrust his sword and the prince was quick to block it with his own. The dull swords made a loud clang with each time it striked against each other, that of which seemed to echo in the room. Zelos was quick on his feet as Uriel had noticed even before but if there was an advantage which was most useful to him it was the fact that he knew how Zelos fought as he had seen him train nearly every single day. He knew how he moved and how he countered which made it easy for Uriel to hit the prince with the sword, “predict where I shall move,” he said after he had tapped the sword against the prince’s arm. Not long after that, a few exchanges of blocks and he had run the dull sword against the prince’s thigh, “you are quick and light on your feet but you only follow my movements,” 

“What else am I supposed to do?” Zelos cried out, sounding quite frustrated with himself and Uriel paused their duel by pushing his sword firm against Zelos’, “you must look at my movements and try to predict where I shall strike next. Count the seconds, find an opening, and seize it,” his voice calm and firm as he released them by taking a few steps back.

“Again,” gesturing for the prince to come and attack him first instead. The two had taken several exchanges, both were breathing heavily and yet Uriel had been constantly taking wins which had made the prince thwarted and began to swing the sword carelessly, giving the guard a number of ceaseless attacks with a cry until Uriel had tried to avoid a thrust by spinning to escape the corner but it was then that Zelos found an opening and struck his sword against Uriel’s back, making him wince and stumble.

In one swift movement, Uriel swung his sword to hit Zelos’ own, spinning it, making the prince lose his grip on his sword, rapidly being disarmed. The general gripped the prince’s wrist, pulling him closer to him as he kept a fiery gaze at the other. Zelos appeared to be quite stunned with the turn of events that he simply stared at the other with wide eyes, standing still as if holding his breath.

“Prince Zelos… you must take a breath,” Uriel said in a low voice, almost as if just in a whisper. The general kept a steady gaze on the prince’s eyes, making sure to wait for him to calm down. Zelos’ eyes were frenzied and clouded with frustration that he could not keep his composure any longer, which was why he was startled upon that realization. There was a brief moment of panic in the prince’s eyes before took a shaky inhale and let it out slowly, repeating it until he felt his heartbeat gradually go back to normal.

As soon as Uriel felt the prince slowly relax, the sharp inhale he made out of the sheer, stinging pain he felt on his back just came out, making his eye twitch slightly. Zelos frowned upon seeing his guard show such a reaction. Uriel immediately let go of the prince’s wrist as he took a few steps back to regain his own composure. Tilting his head side to side and trying to loosen up his shoulders as well. With a nod, as if to signal that he was fine and ready for another round, the ashen-maned man put up a small smile, “do not get vexed and t-”

“Show me,” Zelos commanded with a stern and deep voice which made Uriel’s brows furrow slightly, 

“how to one-up yo-”

“You know exactly what I mean, Uriel. Now, if you do not show me in five seconds, I shall purposefully strike your back once more,”

The general kept a strong and rather defiant gaze upon the royal himself but he knew it was pointless to avoid, let alone, disobey the prince’s orders which was why he tossed the training sword on the ground and took one deep breath before he unbuckled the strap on his chest, removing the black leather which served as a layer of protection, tossing it on the floor as well. Jaw clenched, he gave the prince one last sharp glare as he started to undo his inner clothing, turning his back on the other before he slid the thick fabric down, making sure to pull it away from the wounds on his back.

The back of Uriel’s torso was as fair as his face and arms were, probably a tad bit paler if it were not for the lashes which made ferocious red marks on his skin, showing a striking contrast that shocked Zelos for a moment or two. The only relief the prince found in the situation was that Uriel had his back on him and he cannot see the startled look on Zelos’ face. It was almost horrifying, especially since there seemed to be more marks on his back which have already healed, forming a slight bump for the scars. 

Uriel could feel the heat rising upon his face as he felt resentment at showing the prince the wounds on his back along with the old ones which he already had. It was embarrassing and he’d rather not have the prince see such an unsightly figure. After a few moments of deafening silence, Uriel parted his lips to finally speak and break the tension, “Prince Zelos…” turning around to face the prince once more but the flaxen-haired monarch had started to walk past the general,

“I have to meet with the council. You may report back to me tomorrow. Dismissed,” the prince said stiffly, with his nose up in the air as he walked towards the door, leaving Uriel utterly speechless that he simply watched Zelos disappear as the doors closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> QUESTION: What are you looking forward to seeing in this story?


	5. Access

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uriel returns to his duty only to find his personal items being hauled out by servants. Zelos seems to have a plan and it has taken everyone by surprise, especially Uriel and his commander, Raphael.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a day later than what I had promised but still! A few hours isn't so bad, right?  
> New characters are introduced! They will appear more on the second story.
> 
> Warning: mention of poison

Prince Zelos had been cooped up in his study as far as the nosy council member knew. Uriel had been paying the man to keep him up to date with any palace regards since he did not have any reason to be near the prince for another day since he had been dismissed. All he had done was go to Master Almaeon to get his wounds checked, a long scolding from the older man, and going back to training with the other soldiers instead. 

Uriel expected the prince to have dropped a stack of books after an hour but an entire day had passed that there was not a single word from him. He had not been summoned that he even had to go to Thanatos and ask if he had heard anything from Raphael. Since the incident at the physician’s ward, he had not directly spoken to him apart from giving him the approval of going back to his duty. It took him by surprise to be given an order passed on through Thanatos instead of giving him the order himself.

Lending a hand in training young high-borns was not part of duty and it should never be as he was never the best at teaching anyone anything. His patience was incredibly short when it came to teaching any skill he finds to be quite simple and yet others either take a long time in learning or simply lack the skills to fulfill it. Thanatos knew Uriel well, which was why he simply asked him to just do demonstrations instead.

“While you are here, you are all equal and you follow my orders. You are not the son of someone powerful. You are all soldiers. You disobey orders: you get punished. Third punishment is you being sent back to your fathers, labeled as an embarrassment to the crown and the whole kingdom,” Thanatos was in his element, looking as if he would slice their throats if they do not follow properly.

Uriel found the task to be incredibly unproductive for himself as he could never gain anything from it. Moreover, watching these young men flail their swords was giving him a headache. Thanatos had ordered the group to pair off and duel whilst they continued to demonstrate in front. However, there was one boy with pale, blond hair, looking quite lost and having no partner since there was an odd number of trainees. Since Thanatos was the one holding the training, Uriel sighed and went off to approach the younger man, “your name, soldier,”

The younger man rapidly blinked a few times, looking up at the general before him and standing up straighter as he responded, “I-Icarus, sir! Icarus, son of Cicero,” 

“Did you not listen, soldier? Here, we do not care what family you came from. I asked only for your name,” doing his best not to sigh exasperatedly as clucked his tongue and glanced at the young man’s training sword, “have you had lessons before?” to which the young man responded with a shake of his head and Uriel raised a brow at the boy, glaring down at him, “answer properly,” eyes as if throwing daggers.

“N-no, sir!” 

Uriel pursed his lips and lifted his own sword, stepping back as he nodded his head once, gesturing at the younger man’s sword, “sword up. Ready yourself,”

* * *

Thanatos had dismissed the high-born trainees and had gone back to the barracks with Uriel. With a curious glance, Thanatos’ brows furrowed slightly as he nudged on the side with his elbow, "talk," he said simply whilst they walked. 

Uriel gave the other man a brief look before shrugging his broad shoulders, "about what?" To which Thanatos rolled his eyes and shook his head, "you have been in a terrible mood since you have been dismissed yesterday. Even more terrible than usual," 

The younger man merely let out a soft sigh and muttered, "I might not be fit for my duty," and Thanatos smacked Uriel on the chest using the back of his hand, causing Uriel to stop walking and give the other the look of utter confusion and surprise.

Thanatos glared at the ashen-maned man and stood in front of him, “you fought for your place here and you have what you have because you worked for it. Your position now is yours because you deserve it. Do not belittle your own work, do you understand?”

Uriel, quite taken aback by the sudden lecture from the other, blinking a few times as he gazed at Thanatos with widened eyes. There were a few moments of silence before he nodded his head and sighed, "yes, I understand," lowering his head slightly. Thanatos patted Uriel’s back before he placed his arm around the other, "good. Now let us go and eat dinner. I heard we are having meat tonight," smirking as he led them off to the common dining area for soldiers.

Before Uriel could even sit down at the general’s table, one soldier who was often one of the parties that protects the prince approached him and had saluted both Uriel and Thanatos before facing the younger general, "General Uriel, the prince has requested for you," head held high and looking right at his superior's eyes.

Thanatos raised a brow at the soldier, eying him with his sharp, dark brown eyes which appear to be black, beady eyes, “you, name and rank, soldier,” pushing past Uriel slightly to see who the arrogant soldier was staring straight into his superior’s eyes.

Blinking, the other soldier shifted his gaze at the raven-haired soldier and responded, “Helios, 3C phalangite, sir,” his amber gaze was directly at Thanatos who seemed to be more irked than Uriel. The ashen-haired general placed a hand on the senior general who ignored the signal, “an elite, huh? Perhaps you have rose up the ranks too quickly and forgot how to show respect to authority,” 

Helios had a wide-eyed stare with his eyes appearing to be dark from afar and yet upon standing closer, they resemble an umber, fiery and amber in color. Thanatos narrowed his eyes at the other man, glaring at him before he spoke once more, “you shall learn to avert your eyes from your generals. No dinner meals for three days,” and Uriel could only quietly sigh to himself. The last thing he wanted was to have a disgruntled soldier under him.

The soldier didn’t move an inch nor seem to breathe but he appeared to have something else to say that Uriel moved to stand beside Thanatos and address the other once more, “Helios, where is the prince?” and the soldier shifted his gaze to Uriel but averted his eyes to look ahead and not at either of the general’s eyes, “the prince is waiting for you in his chambers, sir,” 

“Make it two days instead,” Uriel said before patting Thanatos on the shoulder to excuse himself as the other general scoffed and nearly rolled his eyes before he dismissed the soldier before him.

Uriel made haste towards the prince’s chamber and he was bewildered to see a few servants moving a few items and one of them was his personal chest whilst Prince Zelos stood by and watched as the servants walked further into the hall. The general quickened his pace and went up to the prince, greeting him quickly before asking, “your majesty, I- if I may, what is happening?” almost losing his composure upon seeing his personal items being hauled off elsewhere without notifying him.

The prince was not fazed in the very least as he ordered a servant to be quick and clean everything immediately before he glanced at the general beside him, “from tonight and onwards, you shall not be sleeping in the barracks anymore. Your quarters are now the one at the end of this hall,” tilting his head to gesture at the aforementioned room before walking ahead towards it.

The look of absolute confoundment was very much apparent on Uriel’s face that he blinked a few times before following the prince, “your majesty, I- this- this is the palace… I am not-” but before he could say anything cohesive, Zelos cut him off, “if servants sleep in the palace, you most certainly can,” and stopping before the threshold of the room, looking into it from outside as he watched the servants promptly clean and put everything into order, “it is a mere closet space but it should suffice as your bedroom,”

The general turned his gaze from the flaxen-haired prince to the room where he was led, gawking at it in disbelief, “it is… it is…” losing his words as he took a step forward, entering the room which was now his new quarters and just taking it all in. There were drapes, a desk with a chair, a bookshelf that was filled with books he was not familiar with, a cabinet, and most importantly, a bed that was much bigger than anything he has ever had in his entire life.

Zelos kept his cerulean gaze upon the ashen-maned soldier who seemed to be in a daze and awe. The prince let the soldier take it everything in for a moment or two before he walked towards the bed and sat down on it, smoothing his hand on the sheets before he flicked his eyes up at Uriel, “now, you have no reason to be late for your duty as your quarters is a few strides away from my own,” quirking one side of his lip into a smirk.

“Your majesty, this is-”

“It is an order that you stay and keep this room for yourself,” Zelos snapped, making sure to prevent Uriel from any of his excuses, standing up and walking nearer to the soldier, “now you would be at my reach whenever I please,” looking up at the other man with that shadow of a smirk still on his features. 

As if on cue, the servants quietly left the room, leaving the two alone. Uriel held his head up, looking straight ahead and avoiding the prince’s gaze and Zelos snorted before he smacked the general on the chest, “at ease, they have left the room,” his face looking much younger as he seemed to be in a rather pleasant mood. 

Uriel cleared his throat and looked around the room once more before fixing his gaze back at the prince who was roaming around as if investigating his personal items which had been brought in by the servants, “Prince Zelos… is it even appropriate for me to be here?” and with that question, Zelos gave the other a sharp look, “for my guard to be near my chambers, ready for my beck and call whenever I need it?” raising his brow at the other, “I do not see any reason as to why it would not be appropriate,” walking back to stand in front of Uriel once more, “should I be in any danger at night, you shall be right in the same hall,” 

“Please do not speak of ill things as such, Prince Zelos,” Uriel’s face and eyes looking both concerned and serious, “however…” pausing as he took a step closer and placed fist on his chest, “I shall protect you with all my might and my life,” 

Zelos locked their gaze as he responded, “how can you protect me if you die?” tilting his head slightly to the side as he reached for Uriel’s uniform, fixing it to his liking, “you must stay alive for me,” pausing as he kept his hands over the other man’s chest, “now, go. The king has sent for meat for the elite soldiers. You would not want to miss on that,” patting Uriel’s chest before heading towards the door and Uriel nearly forgot to move. The general quickly made his way to the door and opened it for the prince, before exiting his new quarters himself.

* * *

With the few other generals leaving their table, Thanatos finally nudges Uriel’s side and speaks in a low voice, “your things were gone from the barracks. Did you get demoted? What did the prince say?” and the ashen-haired man simply shook his head as he gulped down the rest of the wine in his cup. The unsatisfied general scowled and nudged the other once more, “then what happened? Are you being exiled?”

It was then when Raphael, who sat across Thanatos, put down his own cup with a rather loud thud but still dulled out by the rather rowdy voices of the other soldiers in the dining area. The raven-haired general simply gave the commander a quick gaze before glancing back at Uriel who wiped the excess wine from his lips with the back of his hand and took a deep breath, “the prince had given me quarters in the palace,”

At that, both Thanatos and Raphael looked at Uriel with wide eyes, clearly stunned by the news. However, instead of commenting, the commander opted to simply keep quiet and despite looking as if he wanted to suddenly burst. Uriel continued to speak, "the prince mentioned that I would not ever be late for duty again and for easy access," shrugging his broad shoulders as he poured himself another drink and Thanatos laughed,

"It seems that you have broken the curse of being the prince guard," putting a hand over Uriel’s head and ruffling his mane, "let us drink to that!"

After he had sent Thanatos to the barracks from drinking one too many cups of wine, Uriel made his way to the prince’s chambers to report back to him before he went to his quarters. He was quite certain that the prince would likely give him a few more drills before he dismissed him for the night. The halls were quieter as most servants have gone to their common area, or cleaning up and several soldiers were posted every few meters. On his own, he was relatively at ease, which was why he was taken aback when someone placed a hand over his mouth and locked his hands to his back, dragging him backward into a rather dark corner.

Uriel was about to fight back when he heard his captor’s voice, “be quiet,” before he was slowly released and he turned, coming in face to face with his commander, “do not speak and listen to me,” Raphael said in a hushed and slightly rushed voice, “always be alert, Uriel. Keep your guard up and be careful… Be careful around the crown prince,” holding the other by his shoulders to make sure he does not turn or run away.

“What?” looking at the other man in utter confusion and disbelief, “Raphael, what are you saying?” and the commander tightened his grip on Uriel’s shoulders, 

“You need to be careful around the prince. He might be spoiling you now but he…” pausing to take a quick glance around, making sure there was no one there to eavesdrop on them. Leaning a little closer, Raphael locked his two-toned eyes at Uriel, “I am telling you this as a friend: do not fall for anything that he does,” but the younger man just looked at the other with confoundment, 

“Are you certain that you are warning me because I am your friend…” pausing as his features turned stone cold, “or are you simply jealous?” his frigid gaze intent on Raphael as the other man slowly loosened his grip and took a step back.

Shaking his head slightly, Raphael then sighed heavily before averting his eyes briefly and flicking them back up at the younger one, “I gave you a warning. It is entirely up to you if you heed it,” nodding his head as he forced up the briefest and smallest of smiles before he headed off to the other direction, leaving Uriel alone.

With a sharp inhale and a tsk, Uriel went off to the prince’s chambers. A quick knock on the door and he heard the prince’s voice giving him permission to enter, Uriel opened the door and closed it before he greeted the prince with the usual salute. It was only after his bow that he saw that the prince was already in his sleeping garments but before he could say anything, the flaxen-haired prince snapped at him, "did you dwindle on your way here? Sit down and finish your drills," gesturing at the desk as he flicked his eyes back to the book he was reading.

Uriel bowed his head and went to the desk without a question until he had sat down and realized there was no book or paper for him to read. There were only parchment and ink with a quill on the desk that he stared at it for a few moments before glancing up at the prince who was already making his way towards him, "you will learn how to write," Zelos said simply as he pulled one sheet from the stack and placed it to the side before taking the quill, dipping it lightly and positioning his hand on the parchment, his free arm resting on the backrest of the chair, "now, watch closely as I write each letter and you write it down on that sheet," gesturing at the other quill and the stack of paper in front of the general.

Uriel gulped down the lump in his throat as he reached for the quill and dipped the tip in the ink bottle but Zelos realized that the other did not even know how to properly hold a quill for writing. Placing his own quill back into the silver container, he then held Uriel’s hand to show him how to hold the quill and gently positioned his hand at the top left edge of the parchment, "that is how you hold a quill," leaning slightly as he kept his hand over Uriel’s, guiding him in how to write the letters.

Allowing his hand to be guided, Uriel didn’t dare to move an inch as he carefully eyed how each letter was supposed to be written. He could feel his own hand stiffening that Zelos had to grip his hand a little tighter until it was beginning to be rather difficult for the prince to place his free hand over Uriel’s back, gently stroking it, “calm down, Uriel. I cannot hold your hand properly as it is too huge. Ease your grip,” a small smile appeared at the corners of his lips but it was not witnessed by the other as he was focused on their hands, his grip on the quill and the hand over his back.

Uriel blinked a few times and slowly diminished his grip on the quill that when he tried to write the previous letter, the quill fell from his hand, making the prince chuckle softly, “not too loose, darling,” and with that term of endearment, the soldier’s jaw dropped slightly before he closed his mouth and glanced up at prince. It was only then that he realized that Zelos appears to be tired, that he took a deep breath as he carefully chose his words,

“Prince Zelos, you look quite exhausted and slightly pale,” the concern showing on his grey eyes and his slightly furrowed brows, “you must rest.”

The prince’s eyes appeared to be near glassy and Uriel was certain that the prince needed to lay down and sleep but Zelos shook his head, giving the general a small smile, “I shall lay down when you finish your letters,” and reaching for the fallen quill, placing it back into Uriel’s hand, “now, write them once more and then I shall go sleep.”

With a deep breath, Uriel nodded his head and dipped the quill once more, proceeding onto writing each letter carefully and as closely as he could to how the prince had shown him to. Even with his desire to have the prince rest as soon as possible, Uriel was able to write as decently as he could that Zelos had simply nodded and smiled before making his way to his bed.

It was almost as if the prince was gliding over to his bed. The ashen-haired man stood up from the chair and pushed it back before he followed the prince, standing a few feet away from the foot of the bed as Zelos loosened the tie from his chest and glanced up at the soldier, “have you ever laid with a man before, Uriel?”

Uriel kept himself composed as he could almost hear the words which Raphael said to him earlier. His jaw clenched slightly before he offered a bow instead, “I shall be taking my leave, Prince Zelos. Have a good night,” slowly stepping backward with his head low, making his way towards the door.

“No, stay here,”

Glancing up, Uriel looked a bit stunned before he straightened his back and fixed his expression to a neutral one before nodding his head, “of course, your majesty,” complying to the prince’s command by staying in the royal chamber, standing by the door. He shifted his gaze ahead before him, looking anywhere but at the prince who had laid down on the middle of the bed, from what he could see on his peripheral.

“Are you that afraid of me?” the prince drawled in question as he kept his gaze upon the soldier who was resolute with his duty. Uriel shifted his eyes to glance at the prince and responded, “no, your majesty,”

“Then come here,” pushing himself up to sit as he waited for the other man to come to the bed but Uriel only walked to stand beside the bed. Zelos snorts softly before he proceeds to wordlessly patted the space on the bed. Uriel simply glanced down at the empty space on the bed then at the prince, staring at him both blankly and in confusion.

“You seem to be less compliant when it is just the two of us,” Zelos moves to reach for Uriel’s wrist, using the other man’s own weight and the element of surprise, to pull him towards the bed. With such force, the prince plopped down on his back whilst Uriel stumbled upon the mattress. He did not quite expect such sudden movement from the monarch that he was completely taken by surprise but managed to catch himself before he fell completely on top of the prince.

With his hands on either side of Zelos’ head, Uriel gazed down at the prince with wide eyes, still quite stunned, whilst he hovered over the bright, blond-haired prince whose eyes seemed to be different than usual, “when I tell you to do something, you do it,” Zelos said as both of his hands reached up to hold the back of Uriel’s neck, and the grey eyes of the soldiers were intent on the prince, not uttering a word.

Uriel lifted one hand from the mattress and gradually placed the back of his hand over the prince’s cheek, gently stroking it, “your majesty…” trailing off for a second before he continued, “you are burning up.”

* * *

“...arsenic,” Master Almaeon said in a rueful voice as he spoke to the king, the commander, and the prince’s guard in the war room, “it is highly likely that the prince had ingested it from a drink or food but only to a minimal amount. Had this not been caught earlier and if the prince had ingested more, it would be his demise in a few days.”

The king appeared to be fuming as he thought to himself quietly, a trait which both he and his son have in common as Uriel had noticed, shook his head and pursed his lips slightly before he grunted, “Raphael, see to it that his servants are changed. His food must be kept a close eye on before he ingests it. Find out who is responsible for this. We have a mole and you must eradicate it. And you-” turning his sharp gaze on the ashen-maned general, “I cannot stress enough how grateful I am. You have saved my son’s life,” 

Uriel bowed his head low as he spoke, “it is my duty, your highness,” before he straightened his back up once more.

“Do not lower your guard, young man. Those fiends would not rest until they had taken his life. I will not allow it. There shall be a bloodbath,” a heavy and firm hand landed on Uriel’s shoulder that nearly knocked him from his spot, “do not leave his side,” it was only at that moment that Uriel had seen horror and fear on the king’s face and his eyes. Even with Raphael’s sharp eyes boring into his soul, he had no other words in response to the king but “yes, your highness.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters:  
> Hyunjin - Uriel, prince’s guard/general (Starategos or Stratigos)  
> Felix - Zelos, prince of Stragos  
> Chan - Raphael, king’s guard/supreme commander (Polemarchos)  
> Changbin - Thanatos, general (Starategos or Stratigos)  
> I.N. - Icarus, a governor's son  
> Lee Know - Helios, elite brigadier
> 
> Locations:  
> Stragos - kingdom of Zelos  
> Themorinth - neighboring kingdom  
> Creathos - an ally kingdom of Stragos  
> Agres - an ally kingdom of Stragos


	6. Wish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raphael and Uriel take a swing at each other during the training of the younger soldiers. Zelos tells Uriel to read a book about a princess who was betrothed to a prince she has never met but there were pages missing from the storybook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like the cameos of I.N. and Lee Know? I may or may not add more cameos of them or the other members within the next few chapters. A little *spoiler* but I have introduced another member in this chapter!
> 
> Also, I apologize for updating so late. I recently became quite busy IRL so I couldn't post weekly anymore. Hopefully, I'll still be able to post at least every two weeks or less.

“I had never seen a green so terrible in handling a sword,” Thanatos remarked as his eyes were glazing over the young soldiers being trained to fight. If they were lucky, there would be no need for them to see bloodshed. However, there were low chances of that now as the rumor of the prince’s poisoning had spread throughout the castle like wildfire. Glancing at the ashen-haired general beside him, Thanatos raised a brow at the man, “were you not supposed to leave the prince’s side?” 

Uriel merely grunted as he left the raven-haired general’s side and stormed off to train with the soldiers. With his training sword, he tapped it over on the shoulders of several trainees and commanded them to come and attack him, “lest you wish to lose a meal, do not hold back upon attacking,” his grey eyes seemed darker and showing no emotion. The young soldiers glanced at each other for a few moments before two charged in with their swords aiming right at the general’s stomach. In a swift movement, Uriel pushed one of the soldier’s swords with his own, taking a quick step away from the swords coming at his direction, making both of the trainees to collide with one another, “you must think before attacking an enemy, two, three steps ahead,” taking one, huge step to another side, effectively avoiding an attempt for a surprise attack from another, “think of how you hold your sword, how you move,” another breath and he spun around to grab one of the trainees by the neck using his arm, leaning onto him to kick another incoming soldier.

The onslaught of trainees falling like leaves was observed by the watchful, beady eyes of the raven-haired general, Thanatos, letting out a heavy sigh upon seeing each trainee cough and groan, struggling to get up from being thrown and struck by Uriel. The general refrained himself from rolling his eyes as he started to walk towards the group and break the so-called ‘training’ from Uriel. However, someone had moved past him, placing a hand over his shoulder and pulling him backward, preventing Thanatos from approaching the group. Upon glancing to who dared to stop him, the familiar scarred eye caught his vision and the general immediately stopped in his tracks.

Raphael walked past the fallen soldiers who struggled to pull themselves up and keep fighting, stopping as he stood a few meters away from Uriel. With his head held high, he stared at the ashen-haired general, their gazes were electric and powerful that the entire training ground would feel the tension in the air. It was only to glance at the groaning soldiers that the commander had averted his gaze from the other and the smallest of smirks could be seen if one looked closer on his features, “if you wanted to train them, you must teach them, not beat them to a pulp. If you wanted to train for yourself, you could have asked me to spar with you,” lending a hand to one of the soldiers, pulling him up to stand. 

The young general merely snorted in response as he swung the dull sword around, twirling it and shifting it from one hand to the other, “they will learn how to fight by actually fighting,” he sighed haughtily as he shifted his gaze among the soldiers before giving Raphael a side-eye, “you taught me that way, do you remember?” and despite the other’s words, the commander kept a calm composure, standing up straight and stretching out his hand at one of the soldiers, gesturing for him to hand him his dull, training sword.

“Not everyone is like you, Uriel,” studying the training sword as he swung it around, taking in the weight of it in his hand before he took a few steps closer, standing a good two, or less, meters from the young commander, “defeat or disarm me, and I shall allow you to do as you wish,”

With a scoff, Uriel glanced down at the dull swords and lifted his gaze back up at Raphael’s dual-toned eyes, “then use a real sword,” cocking a brow up at the commander.

A small crease then appeared on Raphael’s forehead as he kept his gaze intent on the younger man, “do you have a deathwish?”

“I wish you wouldn’t keep seeing me as that little boy you need to protect.”

There was a moment of heavy and magnetizing silence between them and among those who were near the two. After assessing the situation and contemplating, the commander tossed the dull sword aside to the ground, whilst the pleased Uriel did the same as soon as Raphael tossed his sword. They took a few steps back as the onlookers moved back to give them more space. Uriel unsheathed his sword, one that he polished and sharpened often, making sure he never forgets how it felt to use it, moving it around his sides, appearing to be more confident as he held his own sword.

Raphael drew out his own sword, his face not betraying any sort of emotion as he held the familiar hefty weight of his sword, stout and having a different shape than regular swords, appearing to be much heavier than it seems. Uriel’s eyes adjusted and his features shifted from showing confidence to resolute sharpness.

Two of the most high-ranking and well-decorated officers were head-to-head, using their real weapons for a duel. News of it spread immediately throughout the palace grounds that the entire training ground became a spectator’s pit for Uriel and Raphael. The commander circled his sword once and Uriel took that moment to lunge in for an attack. The thunderous clashing of steel seemed to echo throughout the rather quiet crowd apart from the hushed murmurs amongst themselves.

The commander did not find it difficult to force the other to move backwards as he led the dance by attacking forward, not giving Uriel enough time to take another lunge forward against Raphael. It never ceased to surprise the ashen-haired man how fast paced Raphael fought despite the huge sword he lugged with him which Uriel deemed to be absolutely impractical. The younger one had been pushed as far back as the edge of the circle of the crowd that he had to force himself to stand strong against the weight that Raphael had been pushing down against his sword.

In a split second decision, Uriel circled his sword in the attempt to at least escape the corner if he cannot disarm Raphael yet. At the moment that the other’s sword was pointing to the ground, Uriel hopped off from his spot and jumped to the commander’s side before rapidly moving backwards, away from the other man to create some distance and for him to catch his breath. Raphael had a slightly amused look on his face which made Uriel frown, “you are as agile as ever,” swinging his sword once as he adjusted his position to face Uriel.

The young commander used that brief downtime to crack his neck from side to side before fixing his stance. Raphael stood with his feet apart, holding the heavy sword impressively with one hand whilst Uriel stood with one foot in front of the other, slightly lunging forward with his sword pointed directly ahead at the other man. In almost a flash, their steel swords came clashing against each other once more, creating loud sounds as they moved back and forth until the younger one missed a swing that he did not expect to come from the opposite side and Raphael used his elbow to slam it against the general’s abdomen, immediately knocking him back and the commander followed up with a kick to Uriel’s leg, getting him off his feet and falling down hard on the ground with a thud.

Raphael came up against Uriel, crouching low as he pressed one knee against the other’s chest to keep him down on the ground. Uriel’s eyes appeared frenzied at being vexed that he had been thrown down and defeated as if it was a simple thing to do. He kept his head up, not lowering it down on the ground as he glared defiantly at the other man. Raphael let out a small sigh, “you are getting too confident, Uriel,” shaking his head once, a look of dismay appearing on his features before it changed in an instant as he plunged his sword down next to Uriel’s face. The blade glided over the general’s cheek, slicing his skin and creating a short streak of a wound on his left cheek. 

The commander then leaned down a little closer to the younger man’s face as his eyes showed a threatening gaze whilst he spoke, “focus on your duties and do what I tell you to do,” pushing himself up to stand after those words and pulled his sword from the ground before he placed it back in the sheathe and walking away from the general he had just pinned down.

Upon the parapet walk near the bailey where the training was held, stood the king and the prince having watched the spectacle that had been circulated throughout the castle. Prince Zelos stood quietly near his father gazing down at only one person in the middle of the crowd, hands properly over each other on the small of his back as he balled them into fists. The king lifted his head higher, letting out a low huff as he turned to walk back into the keep. Zelos took a deep breath and one last glance down at the ashen-maned general who dusted himself and returned his sword in the sheathe before he followed the king.

With a small frown on his forehead, Uriel dusted off the dirt from his uniform as he headed back inside the palace keep. Perhaps he should change his uniform before he returns to his post, switching with the two brigadiers that Zelos had been tolerating whenever Uriel had to change shifts. However, before he could make it to the end of the hall, he was met with the familiar dark blond locks, heading towards him with that slight bounce to his step. The general only sighed softly to himself and raised his brow slightly at the man before him who stopped in a decent distance, saluting Uriel as he began to speak, “General Uriel-”

“Where?”

“I- I beg your pardon…?” the round eyes of the soldier blinked a few times in confusion as he stared up at the general who sighed once more as if incredibly tired from his day,

“The prince summoned me, did he not? Where is he?”

The soldier made an O with his lips as his eyes appeared to be quite wider than they normally were that it reminded Uriel of a child in awe. When the soldier had understood, he stood up straight and stared ahead as he continued to report, “his majesty is waiting for you in his chambers. His majesty would like for you to change into your non-combat uniform, sir,” finishing his message by lowering the fist from his chest back down to his side.

Uriel could only close his eyes and lift his head up as if trying to calm himself down for a moment before lowering his gaze back at the soldier before him, “understood. I shall change and report to the prince as soon as I finish,” starting to walk past the other man and as he did, he gestured for him to follow him, of which the soldier was quick to obey, “is Helios outside or with the prince? Has he had his meal?”

Round eyes blinking as he spoke with a slight yet natural pout to his lips, the soldier responded, “he is with the prince inside and two others are standing guard outside. His majesty does not seem to like it when there are two guards with him. He always sends me outside-”

“Because you talk too much,” Uriel replied in the calmest manner that it could hardly be an insult, “and remember to modulate your voice around the prince. He is not fond of loud voices,” and the soldier immediately closed his mouth into a line, making his rather round cheeks appear to be fuller than they normally were. The general could only see a glimpse of the soldier from the reflection on a shiny vase which they had walked past and Uriel had to hold his amusement, “do not take it against him. His majesty is very specific.”

As they walked closer to the prince’s chambers, Uriel halted and glanced at the soldier behind him, “Elias, must be on high alert. Press your ears closer to the earth and report to me and me alone, do you understand?” The soldier took a deep inhale and nodded his head, showing resolution. The general gave him a brief nod before putting a hand over the man’s shoulder, “good work,” before he turned on his heel and proceeded to his new quarters to change.

It didn’t take him too long to change into his non-combat uniform that he had dismissed the other soldiers outside the prince’s chambers and sent them off to dinner, giving Elias strict orders to appoint new guards near the chambers but not by the doors. Uriel entered the chambers and gave the prince a salute. Zelos barely gave him a glance as the prince seemed to be quite busy with something as he sat behind his desk as he normally would. The flaxen-haired prince lightly tapped his table with his fingertips and muttered, “you are dismissed,” making Helios hit his heels together and give the prince a wordless salute and a bow before heading for the door where Uriel had been standing.

The soldier glanced up at the general and shifted his eyes to the side as if gesturing to the prince before he gave Uriel a salute as well and headed out, closing the door behind him. Uriel pretended to ignore such a gesture but he fixed his eyes on the prince and only approached him when the doors were already shut. Halting by his desk, the ashen-maned general finally greeted the prince, “your majesty,” bowing his head before he stood up straight and Zelos pushed his chair back to stand and stood in front of one of the shelves filled with books of which at least half of them Uriel had read because he was ordered to do so for his practice. 

Zelos reached for a book that seemed to be worn out and the title on the spine was already faded and it was barely recognizable. The prince opened the book, scanning the pages as he spoke, “sit behind the desk,” and instead of questioning the prince’s intentions, Uriel simply did what he was told. He replaced the prince’s spot with his own self and when he had positioned himself, Zelos placed the book on the table in front of the soldier, “read,” before the prince moved to retract the parchments he was previous reading, sitting by the edge on one side of the desk and his back turned on Uriel.

Upon closer inspection, the book had some scorched parts and the pages were tattered, nearly falling apart from the spine itself. It was only the cover of the book which held it together. Not wasting more time in studying the physical state of the book, Uriel opened it to the first page and began to read.

The story started off with a princess, fair-skinned and beautiful, beloved by her people, coveted by many. Her hair was dark and auburn in shade, long and healthy locks which she often had down and decorated with flowers by her handmaidens. One of her favorite handmaids appeared as if she was a royal herself as she had beautiful olive skin, supple and soft, hair flaxen and eyes shaped like almonds, light freckles peppering her nose and cheeks.

The princess was much older than her baby sister and since her mother passed after giving birth, her father began to be ill and his health slowly deteriorated and she was rushed into being groomed to lead their kingdom. However, their law dictated that a man, a king, must rule and sit on the throne so the regent had reopened the agreement among two allied kingdoms for the princess to be betrothed to the second-born prince just a few years older than her.

Upon meeting her, it was as if the prince had been enchanted. He fell in love at first glimpse with the princess and grew fonder and fonder of her each day. The kingdoms rejoice upon the news of a good relationship between the two royals. They were a good match according to everyone who has seen them and knew them. They were wed and the prince did everything to be a good husband to her. 

Everything seemed to be going quite well until the prince began to notice something peculiar about his wife. She often seemed to be tucked away somewhere else, reading, sewing, painting, accompanied by her handmaiden, all seemingly in an effort to stay as far away from the prince as possible. For a while, the prince thought she was probably quite reserved and being wary of fulfilling her duty in bearing a child. He did not mind not having a child so soon so he did not force her into anything and yet she grew even more distant from him.

It was all the same until one night he asked her if she loved another man. Her response was a simple _‘not at all, your highness,’_ and as much as he believed she spoke the truth, there was still a sinking feeling in him that made him not fully believe her words. After a few days, all her handmaidens were replaced and she appeared to be quite anxious and frenzied as she pulled herself together with all her might as she asked where her handmaiden was. She only looked for one handmaiden by her name among all five that she had. It was then that the prince asked her a different question, _‘are you in love with someone else?’_

At that moment, the princess’ eyes were glassy with tears which threatened to fall as she responded, _‘yes.’_

Uriel saw that the rest of the pages of the book was torn and were missing so he put it down and glanced up at the prince, “pardon me, Prince Zelos,” and the prince hummed in response before the general continued to speak, “the rest of the pages of the book are missing. What happened to it?”

Zelos then looked up from what he was reading, gaze far as if recalling something beyond his own past, and rolled the parchment he held as he responded, “my previous teacher had tore the pages and burned them,” he said simply as he turned to lightly toss the rolled parchment on the table as he lowered his gaze to Uriel, “he tried to destroy it but I managed to recover what was left of it,” nodding at the book in the general’s hand.

With his brows furrowed slightly together, he blinked a few times as he lowered his gaze from the prince to the book as if waiting for the rest of the pages to magically reappear before he finally asked, “what happened to the prince and the princess?” flicking his grey eyes back up at the prince.

“The princess was accused of treason and the prince had her exiled to a fortress far away from the capitol where she lived the rest of her life…” lifting his hand to push the book Uriel held down on the desk, “...with her handmaiden.”

Uriel’s gaze was intent on the prince as he listened to him, letting the silence settle for a good few moments until he asked a question once more, “why did you have me read this book?”

“Did you understand the story?” responding with another question to avoid answering Uriel’s inquiry.

The young general’s features seemed to lighten as he retorted, “if you wished to confess your feelings for me, you could have simply said so,” to which the prince’s face was colored with a bright shade of crimson. Zelos fought not to turn away from the other and stand his ground but he found that gazing at his guard’s handsome face was far too much for him that he surrendered and pushed himself off the desk, turning away in an attempt to hide his blushing cheeks but Uriel was quick to stand and grab the prince’s arm and pulled him flush to his chest.

Zelos’ azure eyes widened as he gazed up at Uriel, startled by the sudden movement and physical contact. With Uriel’s other hand held the prince by the small of his back, the farthest tips of his fingers nearly reaching the curves of Zelos’ waist, he pulled him close with a strong hold, not allowing him to move away from him so easily. The warmth of their flushed bodies and Uriel’s breath tickled his skin, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand and his cheeks glow brighter. 

“My prince…” he breathed almost in just a whisper, keeping an intent and warm gaze on Zelos, flicking his eyes from the other’s blue wonders down to his rose colored lips, brazenly leaning in closer but not rushing in to give the prince a choice.

Zelos was absolutely captivated by Uriel, leaving him breathless and the only way to recover was to surrender. His eyes searched those silver eyes before he lowered his gaze down to Uriel’s plush and delicate lips before he finally caved and leaned forward to remove the distance between their lips.

The first touch was electrifying, gentle and overwhelming. Zelos had not experienced anything like such despite not being his first kiss. There was warmth and excitement, relief and eagerness, all different emotions coursing through him upon the contact of their lips and he craved for more. With his free hand, Zelos lifted it to cup one side of Uriel’s face, pressing his body and his lips more against the other as their exchange gradually deepened.

Uriel allowed the hand which gripped the prince’s arm to slowly loosen and he slid them to his upper back, holding him as close to him as possible as he leaned down against Zelos who had quickly swung his arm up to reach for the back of Uriel’s neck, pulling his own body upwards, heels slowly lifting up from the ground. The passionate kiss was turning more into a carnal hunger as both had parted their lips and allowed their tongues to glide over each other, starting to taste and explore each other’s mouths.

The ashen-haired man slid his hand down from Zelos’ lower back, over the curve of his buttocks and to his thigh gripping it as he pulled the other’s leg up against his waist. The prince was quick to follow the other’s lead, curling both arms around the back of Uriel’s neck and pulling himself up to allow his slender legs to wrap around the other’s waist, carrying him as if he weighed nothing. The prince pried his lips away for a moment but allowed their lips to brush against each other as he spoke breathlessly, “let us test how much you have improved in taking off my clothes,” smirking down at Uriel who had mirrored such smirk on his own features,

“I have had a lot of practice because of you, my prince,” the smirk grew into a grin as he walked towards the prince’s massive bed, carrying the flaxen-haired man along with him and slowly lowering him down against the plush mattress.

“Then you best pass my expectations,” not letting go of Uriel even as he had been laid down on the bed, pulling the other into another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh~ I know this chapter is quite short but I wanted to give everyone a heads up that in the next chapter, there would be smut or explicit scenes.
> 
> Characters:  
> Uriel - Hyunjin, prince’s guard/general (Starategos or Stratigos)  
> Zelos - Felix, prince of Stragos  
> Raphael - Chan, king’s guard/supreme commander (Polemarchos)  
> Thanatos - Changbin, general (Starategos or Stratigos)  
> Icarus - I.N., a governor's son  
> Helios - Lee Know, elite brigadier  
> Jisung - Elias, elite brigadier
> 
> Locations:  
> Stragos - kingdom of Zelos  
> Themorinth - neighboring kingdom  
> Creathos - an ally kingdom of Stragos  
> Agres - an ally kingdom of Stragos


End file.
